


My Hero Academia: Konoha

by Dunkin



Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - High School, Dysfunctional Relationships, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Lesbian Haruno Sakura, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Political Campaigns, Political Drama, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Unrequited Crush, angsty sasuke, bnha au, like slow slow burn, sakura is an idiot, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2020-06-03 05:26:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 29,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19457296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dunkin/pseuds/Dunkin
Summary: Imagine the Naruto universe being set in high school and merged with BNHA. Where ninjutsu is replaced with quirks.A coming of age story with romantic tension, political drama, and more.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not gonna lie, it's been a while since I watched Naruto. I never really done this before so here you go.

**NARUTO**

No one can deny its grandeur. The building stood tall and confident, casting a shadow that stretched longer than the eye could see. The building was light brown, with bricks that you could tell were older than generations and yet showed not a single crack on them. It was surrounded by lush gardens and ponds spilling with life in them.

This was a new school. High school. A big deal. This school was made for the purpose of housing people who were gifted; people who’s proven to have multiple talents, not only just in quirks but also in character. Naruto’s quirk was cloning and body morphing. Not a lot of students could do that, but that wasn’t a big deal to him. To him, his real talent was climbing. He could climb anything. Nothing was ever too small. Except this building.

Before he came to this school, he thought of ways to stand out from his peers. His original plan was to climb the top of the building and make multiple clones of himself to announce his arrival.

But after seeing the sheer magnitude of the building’s height, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Nonetheless, he still had a huge smile on his face.

It was a new challenge. Another thing to climb.

He looked around, trying to find where the center of attention was but the groups were scattered all over the lawn. There were groups of people with their books discussing about the things in their books and all of the stuff that brings with it. They were not the people he was looking for.

He turned around and saw them. The jocks. The men of the football team. Those were the people he needed the attention. Naruto stomped boldly over to them.

“Hey!” Naruto yelled, slamming his fist on his chest. “I want to join the football team!”

Kiba turns around slowly, visibly annoyed.

“You think you’re first person to ask that? I already got ten people ask me that today,” he let out a tired sigh, “look try outs are tomorrow, ok? Leave me alone.” Kiba then begins turn back to his group.

Naruto grabs him before he could rest.

“I want to join today! Let me be a part of the team! I can try out and show you what I can do!” Naruto yelled confidently.

Kiba pauses and examines Naruto.

“Can what you today, you can do tomorrow?” he asked.

“YES!”

“Then do it tomorrow.” Kiba tries to shrug Naruto off him but Naruto’s grip is strong.

“Ok then how about I come with you guys to practice?”

“Get off me!”

He then goes forward to push Naruto but Naruto spins out of the way resulting with Kiba to trip and fall to the ground.

Naruto towered over Kiba.

“That’s what you call a spin move right?” Naruto said with a grin that spread from ear to ear.

Laughter erupted in the background. Kiba’s eyes were filled with anger.

“Hey, why don’t we all just relax, huh?” Choji said, trying to get in between the two of them, “Look, class is about to begin, and we don’t need to fight about anything.”

“Fight?” Naruto said confused. “I was just showing off my moves to him.”

Kiba gets up and glares at Naruto. Then, the bell rings. School is about to begin

“You can show your moves tomorrow. That’s when try outs are. I am not discussing this any further.” Kiba turns around and walks to class. The rest of the current football team follows with him.

Naruto smiles again. He had done what he set out to do. Grab the attention of the football team.

Things seem to be turning out in his favor here at this school.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sasuke Uchiha**

No one can deny its dreariness. The building towered over its subjects, swallowing them in its oppressing shadow that reached farther than the eye could see. Its subjects matching the building in its dreadfulness with their conformity to the system of education that constantly barrages its students with meaningless tasks in hopes of one day turning them into a computer that operates at society’s bidding: lacking originality and personal thought.

This wasn’t Sasuke’s first time attending Sarutobi High. He had attended the summer program that the school gave to incoming freshmen. The program was fine; the main goal was to find an activity that was related to your quirk and train in it. Sasuke chose hiking but he would usually sneak away deep in the forest when it was his group’s turn to go hiking on a nearby trail.

He met the Taka gang like that. All of them were also in hiking, and when they saw him sneak off, they decided to go join him.

Honestly, they were the best thing about summer.

Lucky for Sasuke, they were also attending Sarutobi High with him because he couldn’t handle school and would always sneak off on his own.

Now, he could sneak off with other people.

Sasuke sat down on a bench that was placed across The Pond. The Pond sat in the center of the school’s lawn and was always populated with people.

It was always fun watching these children interact. It was like watching dumb animals run and bark at each other. The animals putting so much value in something like popularity and social acceptability when in the end it didn’t matter. Death comes for us all.

Sasuke knew this firsthand

As he sat, observing the specimen, Suigetsu approached Sasuke stealthily, possibly trying to surprise him. Sasuke turned around before Suigetsu had the drop on him.

“Nice try” Sasuke said in monotone.

“Crap, I thought I could get you this time,” Suigetsu sighed. “Do you really leave your quirk on all the time?”

“I can’t let anyone catch me off guard,” Sasuke said sternly.

“Still though. That’s too much energy. If I left my quirk on all the time, I’d always be tired and dreeary…annnd dreaaaadfuuulll,” Suigetsu slowly started morphing into liquid.

“Stop,” Sasuke said sternly. He tried looking at him angrily but couldn’t help but find it a little funny. A smile passed through his angry face.

Suigetsu morphed back to normal. “So where’s Karin and Jugo?”

“I don’t know about Jugo but right now, Karin is talking to her classmates. She has a different homeroom than us.”

“She does?! Why didn’t she tell me this!”

“She did but we were high when she told us.”

Suigetsu’s face was filled with confusion. “When was this?”

“I think a couple days ago. I know it was recent cause I remember you giving me your lighter that day.”

“We didn’t get high recently,” Suigetsu started scratching his head, trying to think. “Last time we smoked was at Jugo’s birthday party.”

“Yeah, that was last week.”

“Ohhhh.”

Suigetsu sat down next to Sasuke and joined him in his observation. It didn’t last long for the observing was interrupted by loud laughter that erupted from behind them. Suigetsu turned around. He started laughing.

Suigetsu started nudging him on his arm. “You’re seeing this, Sasuke?”

“Yeah,” he said in monotone.

There was a crowd of people surrounding two people.

Both girls.

One of them was red hot, angry about something. 

The other had their head in the concrete.

Sasuke watched them, bored.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sakura Haruno**

It looked like a normal building.

Normal bricks, normal walls, stairs, etc. The only notable thing about the building was its lawn, which was filled with bushes and flowers. The lawn was in front of the building and at the center of the lawn was what was called The Pond. Really it was an over glorified pool with a fountain in the middle. The main thing about The Pond was that’s where the really popular people hang out. If you weren’t popular, sitting at The Pond is something you shouldn’t consider. Instead, try sitting at one of the four benches that sat on each corner of the brown tile that surrounded The Pond and watch how life is in the popular circle from the outside. But Sakura wasn’t pathetic like those losers. She won’t be content with sitting on the outside, never participating.

Sakura’s goal for freshman year was to sit at The Pond.

It was going to be tough; she knew this. Most of the popular kids became popular through either family, grades, or being on the football team. But girls weren’t allowed on the guy football team, her grades could never top Neji’s or hell, even Tenten, and her family were nobody special. Though, she knew that a Uchiha went to this school and he’s known as a bum so maybe family wasn’t everything. But still, if her grades aren’t great and her gender hasn’t changed, how could she get a seat at The Pond?

It was simple really. Date one of the popular guys.

Sakura knew she wasn’t the most attractive girl at school but looks aren’t everything; however, they are something, so she made sure to get her hair done the day before as well as buy new makeup and clothes in preparation for the school year. She was not risking anything, her butt belonged on that stone wall that surrounded the pool. She wasn’t going to risk losing a spot at The Pond because she was looking like a five out of ten instead of an eight. But, even so, the guy she was aiming for was not the typical kind of guy. She knew he wouldn’t be swooned by a pretty face and a push up bra. He was a man of intellect, a man who still valued the qualities of a true women and the most popular guy at school. He wouldn’t just go after a pretty face but a smart girl who could keep up with his intelligence and add value to his life.

Who also happens to have a pretty face.

Neji was the most popular guy at school, so securing him would also secure a spot at The Pond. Then, she too would become one of the popular girls at school. The guys would be all over her. The girls all jealous. Everybody wishing to be like her and not the other way around.

She entered the school lawn ready. She had planned out everything. Every scenario, both good and bad, she planned for. Sakura knew what she had to do.

  1. Walk towards the pond.
  2. Drop textbooks on the floor to catch his attention
  3. Since he’s a nice guy, he will help pick up the books.
  4. Brush each other’s hand when trying to pick up the same book.
  5. Share a long gaze into each other’s eyes (Make sure to apply good eyeliner and lashes beforehand)
  6. Ask for his name. Act like the new kid.
  7. Get his number
  8. Secure bag.



It was simple and every scenario was planned out. If he didn’t help pick up the books, she planned for that. If she didn’t get his number, she planned for that. If the gaze became awkward, she planned for that. Nothing was getting in her way.

“Sakura!”

She heard it. It was a voice that pierced her soul. The sound trembled through her entire body, shaking all her internal organs. Goosebumps shot up so fast it was as if they were trying to race each away from her body.

This was the one thing she didn’t plan for.

The arrival of Ino Yamanaka.

“Sakura, hey!” Ino rushed behind her and wrapped her arm around her neck like a cobra ready to squeeze its prey. “I didn’t know you go to school here,” Ino said with the same fake smile she always wore.

Sakura responded back with a smile of her own.

“Oh yeah, I applied here a while ago.”

“Well, that’s nice.” Ino examined Sakura’s entire body. “You look nice today.”

“Oh really? You think so? You look nice too,” Sakura said trying hard to upkeep her friendliness. She didn’t want to embarrass herself on the first day of freshman year.

“Thanks. Your eyeliner needs a little work, but besides that and the dress, you look really nice,” Ino said, smiling.

“Thank you, you do too. I mean, your hair could use some work and your eye shadow doesn’t look that great, but besides that, you look incredible!” Sakura almost broke character while saying that. Her anger was boiling.

“But you don’t always look this nice. Who are you trying to impress today?” Ino looked around the lawn, trying to figure out who Sakura was dressing nice for.

“Nobody really. I just wanted to look nice for the first day of school,” she replied and almost continued talking if not for noticing that Ino wasn’t listening to her at all. She was muttering to herself, eliminating boys by the second.

“Really Ino, I just wanted to look nice. I’m not trying to imp-“

“You were going to impress one of the boys at THE POND?” Ino burst out laughing. “Which one is it? Sai? No, he’s too artsy, even for you. Shino? Ew. I mean, maybe, you do look like an insect.”

“Ino, I swear I came dressed like this for no reason. I’m not here to IMPRESS anyone!” Sakura’s smile was fading away. Her anger was started to show. She pushed Ino’s arm off her.

“I think you’re the type of girl who would go after Neji.”

Sakura’s smile was now gone. She glared at Ino, completely consumed by anger.

“Jackpot,” Ino said with a devilish grin. “I know you like to plan a lot but that isn’t going to work.”

Sakura gritted her teeth, her fist clenched tightly.

“I know you were thinking that Neji would go for a girl like you, but he wouldn’t,” Ino touched Sakura’s forehead with the tip of her acrylic. “Especially with your five head.”

“He has way too many girls who are sliding in trying to do the same thing you do. However…” Ino gazed at Neji. “Not many girls have the same homeroom class as him.”

“No, you’re lying,” Sakura fretted.

“Nope. Homeroom class 1A. I’m with the smart kids. My dad knows someone who knows Sarutobi and got me a spot in the class. Maybe I should snag a seat next to him and we could talk about history or math or whatever he’s into…Maybe talk about it in his room at night.”

“Stop it,” Sakura begged. “Don’t talk to him.”

“Why? He’s attractive and I can’t help myself. And an attractive person deserves to spend time with another attractive person.”

It hurt even more because Ino was more attractive than her. She knew that Ino had a chance to screw this up. It was the first day of school and already all her planning was out the window. Ino knew this. She knew everything about her; she figured out exactly what she was doing in a matter of minutes.

But she didn’t know one thing.

Sakura came to this school because she wanted to become a skilled doctor. Her quirk was healing, and she wanted to learn more about the quirk and how to use it better but, when she signed on for the summer program, she decided to instead train on her other quirk.

Higher Strength.

Without thinking, she swung her arm. She had trained on how to give a good punch, one that could do damage.

She was tired of Ino and she always got in the way of everything. She was tired that Ino could do anything without even having a quirk. She was tired that Ino was so pretty. She was tired that she was so ugly.

And when she swung her arm, she didn’t feel tired anymore but relieved.

Unfortunately, Sakura didn’t pay too much attention to the self-defense classes they offered in the program. Her first swing didn’t connect with Ino’s face. Ino responded by clawing at Sakura’s face, scratching and leaving marks on her cheek.

Of course she was the better fighter.

This made her madder. Sakura’s face became red hot. She ignored the laughter from the crowd that started to form around them. She was taking Ino down once and for all.

Sakura backed away from Ino’s reach, reading herself for another punch. This time, she was making sure it would connect. Ino came in close, ready for another scratch. She swung her claws at her. Sakura crouched under the attack. Then, counteracted with an uppercut. 

It was a direct hit.

Ino flew. It was beautiful. It seemed like it was in slow motion. Her body flying a foot off the ground and coming back, slamming the concrete.

Victory was hers.

She turned around and saw them. Adults rushing towards her. They dragged her away into the school while some rushed to Ino to check and see if she was okay.

She was fine. Ino was only acting like she was hurt.

Its not like this is the first fight they’ve ever gotten into.

**DENTENTION REFERRAL**

**Name:** Sakura Haruno

**Grade:** 9th

**Quirk:** Strength

**Quirk Level:**

**Partial Normal** **X** **Higher Enhanced Super**

**Additional Quirks:** (Normal) Healing

**Reason for Detention:**

Fighting non quirk student with quirks

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Date of Incident: Time of Incident:**

18-20-08 7:58 AM

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Teacher: Time of Detention:**

Kakashi Hatake 18-20-08 4:10 PM


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I didnt update for a while, but I'm going to try and keep this going. Just be patient with me.

**NARUTO**

He screamed.

The entire homeroom class turned to Naruto, but he didn’t care. He was just too excited.

“IRUKA! YOU’RE MY HOMEROOM TEACHER?!” Naruto grabbed his head, trying to contain himself, but it was Iruka Umino. His elementary english teacher. The only person who’s really stuck by him his entire life. Been more of a father than Sarutobi. How low of a chance this could’ve been.

Iruka let out an embarrassed smile.

“It’s Mr. Umino, Naruto,” Iruka sighed. “Yes, I got the job over the summer and wanted to surprise you. But we can talk about this later, class is about to begin,” he pointed Naruto to his seat and urged him to sit down. Naruto cooperated.

As he sat down, Iruka began to take attendance. As he took attendance, Naruto saw this as opportunity to set himself out from his peers (again).

He wasn’t as nervous as he was before. This time, he was going to do what he planned to do earlier, just in a smaller setting.

“Shikamaru Nara…” Iruka called

“Here,” he answered.

Naruto’s name was soon. He was ready.

After a while, Iruka paused and looked at Naruto. He mouthed something to him, but Naruto couldn’t tell what he was trying to say, but he was keeping track and knew his name was next.

“Naruto.”

Naruto immediately made two clones of himself. All three of them sprung up and posed like they were in an action movie, each making finger guns and pointing them at differing directions. Then, in unision, they cried “HERE” and let out a huge smile.

The entire class said nothing. It was completely silent. They all stared, not even cracking a smile.

“Well, it was worth a shot,” one of the clones said. Both of them disintegrated, turning into air.

Naruto sat down feeling a little embarrassed. He really thought that would work.

“Ahem… Karin Yukinari,” Iruka continued.

******

He forgot how exhausting class was. Staying in a room all day, learning about things like numbers and stuff. Naruto either slept or doodled throughout the entire first half of the day. But finally, he could escape. It was time for lunch.

Lunch had been something that had always made him uncomfortable. He sat alone most of the time, so each day, he had to figure out where he was supposed to sit at. He also made sure to always rush to lunch because if he’s late, there would be no spots available. Naruto quickly grabbed his lunch and scouted the area. There, he saw it. An empty long table. Naruto ran to the table and said in the middle and waited. After a little bit, more kids came in, and then eventually, the cafeteria was crowded with children. There were very little spots to sit at and even fewer long tables.

Still, nobody sat next to Naruto. He decided to stop waiting and eat his food alone.

Today’s menu was a chicken sandwich, apple slices, potato salad, and milk for a drink. Naruto was starving, he doesn’t eat all that often and the summer was cruel to his stomach. He ate everything, even the potato salad, which he always hated but after the summer, he found a new appreciation for food since it wasn’t guaranteed.

“Look at you, finally eating potato salad.”

Naruto looked up and grinned. It was Mr. Umino.

“It’s actually really good,” he said with his mouth full.

“I told you so,” Iruka sat down next to him and opened his lunch box.

He had an apple, two turkey sandwiches, bottled water, bag of chips, and a chocolate brownie. Iruka grabbed the brownie and handed it to Naruto.

“So, how are you enjoying your first day of high school?” Iruka began to eat his turkey sandwich.

“It’s fine. The teachers are ok, but Mr. Hatake really didn’t say anything. He looked really tired.” Naruto then devoured the brownie. They were good, as always. He knew that Iruka was a talented baker.

“Yeah, he’s like that all the time. You know, the first time I talked to him, I swear I thought I was really boring him because he literally was falling asleep as I was talking,” Iruka laughed. Naruto did too.

“Did you meet anyone new,” Iruka asked.

“Well, Jiraiya seemed really nice. I talked to him a little about what he did before he was a teacher. Did you know he was in the military?”

“Wow, I didn’t know that. But, what about the students? Did you meet anyone new from them?”

Naruto paused. He felt a little sad from the answer.

“Well, no,” he quickly smiled, not acknowledging his sadness. Iruka put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder.

“It’s ok, you’ll make friends here, I know it. Tomorrow’s another day and you have no idea what is in store so don’t stress, just because today didn’t work out doesn’t mean tomorrow won’t. Plus, you’re really funny, so I know you’ll make friends soon enough,” he said with a reassuring smile. Iruka always knew how to make Naruto happy.

“I hope so, Mr. Umino.”

“Oh, come on, you know you can call me by my first name,” Iruka started scratching Naruto’s hair, “I only said that because the other kids are around, which remember, I don’t want them thinking I’m showing you favoritism, so around the other kids, refer to me as Mr. Umino, ok?”

Naruto smiled. “Ok!”

They continued to talk and eat together until the bell rang for class.

As they both were exiting the cafeteria, still chatting, they were interrupted by someone.

“Naruto. Are you on your free period?”

Naruto looked up and saw him. The man who his relationship with he could never describe.

The principal/owner of this school.

His caretaker.

Mr. Sarutobi.

“Yeah, it’s my free period.”

“OK, please come with me to my office.”

“Why?”

Sarutobi glared at Naruto. His eyes looked right into Naruto’s soul, piercing it.

Naruto reluctantly followed Sarutobi to his office.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sasuke Uchiha**

“You got any on you,” Suigetsu asked.

“No, I didn’t bring any with me,” Sasuke replied.

“What about you, Jugo?”

Jugo ignored him. He was invested in writing in his notebook.

“Why did we sneak onto the roof if we’re not even going to smoke anything?”

“Why do you always want to smoke something, Suigetsu,” Sasuke said annoyed. “I just want to have a chill vibe without smoking.”

“I jUst waNT To HavE a CHiLl vIbE,” Suigetsu mocked.

“Oh shut up.” Sasuke leaned back, putting his weight behind him, allowing his arms to support him up. 

“The sun…Star…Night…Moon…” Jugo muttered to himself.

“Whatcha doin,” Suigestsu asked Jugo. He started to investigate the page.

“Well, I’m writing a poem. I’ve decided I want to get into poetry.”

“Oh cool, how much do you have written?”

“I have most of it finished. Just tweaking it a bit. I know it has to be about the beauty of nature. The spiritual energy that nature possess is fascinating. Why is that we come to nature to become relaxed, and never indoors? Why do stressed people always need air, and come outside to get it? It is because nature is expansive. So big, urging us to be free from our cramped, indoor lives, and explore with our minds and souls, allowing us to forget anything that’s been bothering us.”

Sasuke used his perception to see how much was written on the page.

The page was blank. As expected.

Suigetsu looked tired. “I asked how much was written, not for you to go on a tangent about the entire thing.”

Jugo looked at him with contempt. “Well, now you don’t have to ask any more questions.” He then turned back to his notebook.

Suigetsu turned back to the view of the town.

The three of them sat in silence for a while.

It was peaceful.

It reminded Sasuke of his primitive years.

When he was younger, he went on a trip with his uncle, Madara.

Madara took him and Itachi on a camping trip deep in some forest that was an hour away from the Konhagakure capital.

Sasuke remembered how uninterested Madara was during the entire trip. It didn’t seem like he wanted to be there with the two. He remembered how Tobi was nearby, constantly watching over them, and being bothered by that.

He remembered that same cold gaze Itachi always had when he was with Madara. How Itachi would always try to be insubordinate to Madara.

Madara would try sometimes to make Itachi subservient by bringing Tobi over to _remind_ Itachi that Madara was president of the Konhagakure. That Itachi had no power.

He remembered the quiet beatings Tobi gave Itachi in the woods. The seventeen-year-old man would never scream when Tobi beat him so all you could hear was the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. He would return, without a scratch on his face. It was as if nothing happened.

Madara always made sure to tell Tobi to hit Itachi in the chest or leg area.

He didn’t want the public to know that the president was beating his nephew.

But even then, Itachi’s face never changed around Madara, never once adopting the warm face he always had when he was around Sasuke.

One day, Madara took them up to a cliff to look over the entire forest. The entire time up, Madara and Itachi argued, while Tobi followed closely

But then, they reached the top.

Suddenly, everything shut up. He couldn’t hear anything. Everything cleared his mind.

Tobi, Madara, Itachi, and Sasuke sat down and watched the entire forest for hours, not saying a word. They let the forest take over their minds.

He remembered just watching. Not thinking, not worrying, not being afraid.

Just. Watching. 

*************

The bell rung. Jugo tapped Suigetsu on his shoulder, trying to wake him.

“Huh?” Drool dripped down Suigetsu’s chin. “Oh…”

He got up and followed Jugo towards the door. Sasuke didn’t move.

“You not coming lunch,” Suigetsu asked.

“Huh? Oh. No, I brought my own. I think I’m going to eat up here.” He never once turned away from the view. He was completely immersed in it.

“Ok then we’ll get our lunch and sneak back up here. We'll be right back, after a short break,” Suigetsu said as he disappeared down the stairs that lead to the roof.

"What? Was that supposed to be some kind of joke," Jugo said as he followed Suigetsu. The two of them began to bicker between each other as they went down the stairs. 

Sasuke didn’t care if they came back or not. He was too distracted by the view.

He continued to stare, to unbothered to even touch his food.

Then, the roof door opened. Sasuke turned around. Suigetsu and Jugo came back fas-

A lady emerged from the door.

She was alone. In her left hand was a can of beer. In her right, a pack of cigs. She tapped the pack with her thumb and pulled a cigarette out with her teeth.

The woman sat down on one of the ac units, placed the pack and beer down, then lit the cigarette. Then, with her left hand, opened the beer and chugged some of it down.

She then stared into the view, allowing it to consume her as she smoked.

Sasuke watched in shock. He knew who this is.

It was Tsunadae. The head nurse.

Tsunadae was about to give the beer another chug when she noticed him. The fourteen year old boy watching her.

She sighed.

Placed down the beer.

Took another smoke from her cigarette.

Reached into her jacket’s inner pocket.

And pulled out a detention slip.

Sasuke didn’t even say a word.

**DENTENTION REFERRAL**

**Name:** Saske Uchiha

**Grade:** 9th

**Quirk:** Perception

**Quirk Level:**

**Partial Normal** **X** **Higher Enhanced Super**

**Additional Quirks:** (normaL elemental control over LightnIng

**Reason for Detention:**

Smoking on the roof. That's why it smelled like smokE

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Date of Incident: Time of Incident:**

18-20-08 12:15 pM

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Teacher: Time of Detention:**

Kakashi Hatake 18-20-08 4:10 PM


	6. Chapter 6

**NARUTO**

Naruto waited in the lobby of the principal office while Sarutobi talked to a bunch of adults. He had missed his next class which he was excited for: P.E. He missed it waiting to talk to Sarutobi.

He always did this. Always disregarding Naruto’s own desires and emotions. 

“I’m taking care of you, so you will do what I say.”

Always that same statement when any sort of objection came up. And the look that Sarutobi would give him while saying it. A look of disgrace. It was like he was never proud of Naruto. Always acting like it was obligation to take care of him.

“Alright, thank you for coming,” Sarutobi said with the hugest smile. It was off putting to see him with a warm face instead of a cold one.

The adults shook each other’s hands and left. Sarutobi then walked over to the counter and whispered, “Anko, I’m gonna have a meeting with the kid. Could you point all walk in appointments and disciplinary matters on hold while I handle this?”

“Do you want me to send them to Jiraiya?”

“Hmm…Is he free?”

“I think this is his free period. I could call him.”

“Oh,” Sarutobi reconsidered, “actually, let’s not go through the hassle of calling him up and figuring out his schedule, I think this won’t take too long.”

“You really need to get a vice principal Mr. Sarutobi.”

He chuckled, “I do, huh? But, have anybody who comes in just wait in the lobby. I won’t take too long with him.”

Sarutobi walked to where Naruto was sitting. He motioned for the boy to get into the office.

Saurtobi closed the door and stood behind his desk. He waited for Naruto to sit down, then he sat in his throne.

“Today is your first day. How has it been,” Sarutobi said.

“Good,” Naruto responded. Saurtobi showed no interest in what Naruto had to say.

“That’s good. Today, I will be taking you home. I don’t know if it is a good idea for you to take the bus home today.”

“Why?”

“But, because I am taking you home, this means you will have to stay a little later than most students. I have some work to do before I go, like every teacher here, and I can’t go home without finishing it. So, today, you are going to attend detention.”

“Is that clear,” Sarutobi said.

“Yes,” Naruto reluctantly answered.

“Good, since there are no questions, you can leave.”

“Why are you taking me home?”

Sarutobi glared at the kid. Naruto simply got up and left.

“Tell Ms. Mitarashi that you’re done talking to me before you leave,” Sarutobi commanded as Naruto walked out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short extra chapter about the history of the detention room. Thought it would be cool to share.

**Detention Room #13**

An empty classroom located on the first floor. It was the only room in the entire building without windows.

When the school first opened, all the teachers constantly squabbled about who’s room it belonged too. Nobody wanted to teach kids in what was essentially a dungeon.

First, it was assigned to be the Creative Art room. It worked for a while until there were too many complaints about the lighting and how it was affecting the art. Sarutobi didn’t really care until the art being put to display in the hallways was dark and moody. This made the school seem like it was run by goths, which made some of the parents complain.

Next, it was assigned to be the English room. But, constantly, students were sent to in school suspension because there were no windows for people to space out into during class readings, and that would make students disrupt the classroom out of boredom.

It was then made a storage closet for band after decreases in funding for the school resulted in the termination of creative art as an elective, but then funding decreased again, and the amount of instruments that the school could afford could fit into a janitor closet, so band was also terminated.

For a long time, the room was just an empty storage closet, filled with old instruments, canvases, and after a little more time, cigarette buds. It was an empty room at school that no one even came in to clean, thus allowing students (and sometimes teachers) to sneak in and “chill”. 

At first, things went on unbothered until two students were caught just past third base. 

Thus for three months, the room was under constant supervision, with Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi having to stay in the room. After school. Almost every day.

(It used to only be one teacher but the same two students who were caught past third base tried to sneak in a quickie while a teacher went to use the bathroom).

Afterwards, it was turned into the detention room at the request of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

When the teachers were asked who would like to become the detention supervisor, Hatake Kakashi immediately volunteered.

It was overtime pay to just do nothing.

Every day since then, Kakashi has supervised detention.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait. Hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for the time lost.

**Sakura Haruno**

In school suspension is not that bad. _I should do this more often_ , she thought.

Sakura was enjoying her experience inside of ISS. No class, no lectures, just her in a room all by herself. The entire day she was on her phone watching movies, playing games, and when her phone ran out of battery, she started to doodle. She found this to be oddly relaxing: taking her mind off school, teachers, dumb popular kids, Ino, and instead just waiting the day out inside a room with no rules. 

She also found it ironic how nice the room was. The ISS room was colored in a comfy green and had a window that faced the pond, where Sakura spent most of her day just staring at. It also had a white carpet that looked very comfortable. Sakura planned on taking a nap on the floor the moment she walked into the room.

There was another tall, skinny window that sat next to the door. It faced the front office, which was where the ISS room was located. When Sakura wasn’t watching the pond and gardens in the front of the school, she was watching the people in the front office. The office was very quiet due to it not having many visitors. All that was heard was the typing on the keyboard done by the secretary and the occasional whispers between the people who happened to come in. It was then that she wished her quirk was hearing related so she could hear the gossip the staff would whisper and giggle to each other like they were in high school.

She kept track of all the people who came into the office. Though never diagnosed to have a quirk related to sight, Sakura was convinced that she had one. Her eyes missed nothing, tracking every detail and examining each person and object immensely. Though, she might’ve been very attentive due to her becoming bored of being on her phone too long. During this attentive examination of her surroundings, she caught the eye of the secretary. The secretary turned around and checked her surroundings. She then got up from her computer and walked over to the ISS room and opened the door.

“My name is Anko,” the secretary said. “Don’t worry about calling me Ms. Mitarashi, I’m not a teacher here. At least, not yet,” she chuckled.

“So, what do you do all day,” Sakura blurted. She didn’t want Anko thinking she was watching her for the past thirty minutes. 

“Quick to the point, but in case you couldn’t tell, I get paid $15 an hour to be on twitter,” Anko chuckled.

“No way, that’s awesome,” Sakura exclaimed. She could feel sweat coming down her forehead and her face blushing a little, but she kept her composure. She needed to act unphased by the fact that Anko had noticed her attentive examination.

“Yeah, and it gives me experience hours, so I am just relaxing until I gain enough hours to start working as an actual teacher.”

“Wow, so you want to become a teacher?” _I got to change the topic_ , she thought.

“Yeah, maybe one day a principal,” Anko smiled. “Who knows? Is it hot in here, you look hot.”

_Dammit, she knows_ , she thought. “No, I’m jus-“ 

“I MEAN like temperature, not like, hot hot…”

They both sat in silence. The awkward moment held both of them captive in its grasp.

“You know, like…” Anko said, hesitantly. “…nevermind.”

Anko’s awkwardness put Sakura at ease. She started to laugh, with the laughter seemingly sucking out the redness and sweat on her face.

“I know what you mean, it’s fine.”

The secretary started to laugh as well. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be awkward. It’s still something I’m still working on.”

All these years and yet, adults still deal with the same issues that she, a freshman in high school, has. It gave Sakura some comfort to know this.

“Anyways, I’m going to head back to ‘work’, if you need anything, just let me know. Also, I have some snacks,” Anko pulled out trail mix and chocolate candy and gave them to Sakura. “Hope you like them.”

“Thank you,” Sakura said.

“No problem, have fun in ISS.”

“You too!” _DAMMIT!_ she thought.

*************

4:00 PM.

The secretary woke Sakura up from a nap. Sakura got up and cracked her back. The carpet was not as comfy as she thought it was. Still, she enjoyed taking the nap.

“Hey, I’m going to escort you to the detention room now, make sure to not forget anything in here cause I’m going to leave and I’m the only person besides the weird janitor and Principal Sarutobi that has the key to this room.”

Sakura grabbed all her stuff and followed Anko out of the office. They turned left, walking down the brown colored hallway, going past the grey lockers, the class 1B and then her homeroom class 1C. They then reached the end of the building, where the gym was. She could hear some of the students playing inside of there.

“Here it is,” Anko said. Sakura turned left to see a lone door by itself, attached to the wall. It looked as if it didn’t belong there.

“Through here, Mr. Kakashi will sign you in and explain the rules of detention,” the secretary said as she opened the door.

The room was dimly lit. It had cement walls painted over a light blue. There seemed to be some yellow design or pictures painted on the wall, but you couldn’t tell with how dark it was. In the back of the classroom, behind the desks, there was a closet that had paper sticking out of it. Surrounding the closet, there seemed to be musical sheets and drumsticks.

At the front of the class was a chalkboard with “____ Minutes Until Detention Over” on it. In front of the chalkboard was a man sitting at a desk located at the center of the room. The man was invested in his book.

“Mr. Kakashi, this is Sakura Haruno, she will be attending detention today.”

Kakashi slowly looked up from his book. His eyes traced with bags made contact with Sakura’s eyes traced with mascara. The stare did not last for more than a second, but within that time, the teacher seemed to have completely examined and drawn a conclusion about her using only his eyes.

Those red colored eyes. They stared deep, piercing the flesh and looking only at the soul. She felt that trying to hide something from those eyes would be useless for they could not miss a detail.

“Hm. Okay. Girl, sign in on this sheet with your name and ID number,” the man tossed to her a sheet of notebook paper with names already written on it. He then turned back to his book.

Sakura began to write down her name.

“Make sure to write your last name first, then your first name. Thank you,” Kakashi said, without looking at her or the paper.

“Alright, have fun. It was nice talking to you, Sakura,” Anko whispered.

Sakura fought the urge to not say ‘you too’ that time, but in hindsight, it would’ve probably been appropriate.

Anko then walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

The room contained two other students inside.

One student with long, black hair, sat in the far-left corner of the room. The boy was leaned back in his chair and fiddling with his thumbs. He seemed to be in a world of is own.

The other student with yellow hair sat at the far-right wall, doodling on a piece of paper. He seemed to be in his own world too.

With where these two are sitting, it seems that Sakura would have to sit at the middle.

It is the worst spot to sit in. It has zero cover, which means she couldn’t get away with being on her phone. Though, considering the way the teacher looked at her, he probably has a high perception quirk so she wouldn’t have gotten away with it anyways.

There was a stack of notebook paper on the desk Kakashi was sitting at, but she wasn’t much of a drawer. Every time Sakura attempted drawing, she would become quickly frustrated of it due to her pictures never coming the way she wants it too. She once tried drawing a picture of a boy and it ended up looking like a picture of an egg with eyes.

The girl sat down in the middle of the room, taking a sheet of paper anyways because why not.

_It’s only an hour,_ she told herself. _I’ll try sleeping through detention._

She laid her down and closed her eyes. She tried to clear her mind, concentrating purely on sleeping.

“No sleeping is allowed during detention.” The teacher then continued reading.

Sakura sat up, disappointed that she could not sleep through detention. She then grabbed a pen and started doodling random shapes on her paper.

And she drew.

And drew.

And kept drawing.

Circles. Squares. Lines. Stars.

She drew them all.

All for fifteen minutes.

The damn squares always looked like rectangles. All the circles were never perfect, no matter how hard she tried. The lines were never straight. The stars looked cool though.

“Psst.”

Sakura heard a whisper coming from her left. She turned to the sound.

It was the kid with yellow hair.

“Whatcha drawing,” he whispered.

She looked at him, then to the paper, and back to the boy.

“I… don’t know,” she admitted.

“Oh that’s cool, I was trying to draw that kid in the corner. He refuses to talk to anyone. Maybe he’s one of those kids who don’t know how to talk? Or, that’s just his quirk? Do you think that his quirk is that he lets fire out of his mouth and he can’t talk because if he does, fire comes out? I don’t know, it’s been bothering me for this entire time-“

He would not stop talking. It was like he was making sure to not have silence in their conversation. When his rant would die down, he went onto another tangent, and continued doing this for at least five minutes, though it felt much longer than that.

“What’s your name?”

Took him long enough to ask. “It’s Sakura Haruno. What about you?”

“Naruto,” he smiled.

“Do you not have a last name?” Sakura looked at him confused.

The kid looked down awkwardly, putting on a sad smile. “Most kids like me don’t tend to have last names.”

“Why?”

“Nobody knows who my parents are.”

Sakura then felt like a dick for thinking that Naruto was annoying.

“Oh man, that’s…terrible,” she said with empathy.

“It’s life.”

Sakura and Naruto both looked to the far-left corner of the room to see where the noise came from. It was the kid who might’ve had a fire breathing quirk up until now. She now got a better look at him. His hair was more of a dark blue than just black, his eyes having a similar red quality to them as Kakashi’s except a lot more subtle and not as bright (and certainly not as intimidating). His hair was very long, almost reaching his shoulders, and they covered most of his face, only revealing some of his eyes and the bottom half of his face. The boy also looked a lot smaller than she had first perceived, possibly even smaller than her.

“Yo, what’s your quirk?”

The boy looked at Naruto confused. “Why does that matter?”

“He thinks your quirk is breathing fire.”

“Why would he think that?”

Naruto blurted, “it’s ‘cause you didn’t respond when I said hi!” He looked mad.

“What are you, a child,” the boy scoffed. It was like he read her mind.

“What’s your quirk,” Naruto persisted.

“Like I said already, why does it matter?”

Sakura intervened. “Just tell the guy your quirk, he went on for thirty minutes talking about it.”

“Yeah,” Naruto exclaimed. He was just as dumb as he sounded.

“It’s just perception and lightning control and sh-“ he glanced at the teacher. “And stuff,” he finished.

Sakura glanced back at the teacher too. They were having a conversation with someone across the room and hadn’t been told to stop yet. Sure they were whispering, but it was very loud whispers and with only three people in a small room, it sounded like they were talking at a normal volume. Kakashi still hadn’t moved his head away from his book. His body was slumped over, with his right arm keeping his head and body from touching the desk while his left arm held his book up, covering his face.

She noticed that her glance had turned to stare when everyone else had stopped talking as well to look at the teacher.

“Hey,” Sakura whispered, pointing at the long-haired kid across the room. “Use that perception quirk to see what he’s doing.”

“I already did. He’s sleeping. Why do you think I started talking to you guys?”

“What’s your name,” Naruto blurted, not holding back his voice. 

The long-haired dude looked at Naruto in confused awe. “Christ man, can’t you see we’re trying to see if the teacher is asleep.”

“I thought you guys already determined that,” Naruto said, still not restraining his voice.

“But, now we have to be cautious cause he could wake up to us talking if we make too much noise,” Sakura hissed. She was getting annoyed of this kid.

“OOOOoooooohhh,” Naruto’s said, his voice going from normal back to whispered. “but what’s your name?”

The dude sighed, took one more quick glance at the teacher then slithered his way towards Naruto and Sakura, being careful to not make any noise. He sat in the desk right behind Sakura.

“It’s Sasuke. What’re your’s,” he whispered, looking at them both.

“It’s Naruto,” he whispered. It was still loud but at least he was whispering.

Sasuke turned to her. Sakura was getting a much better look at him now. He had a nice chin and small button nose. He took up a lot after his uncle Madara, possessing that same round yet sharp facial structure as the president. The similarities were uncanny; he could pass off as Madara’s son with how similar they looked. She found Sasuke to be quite attractive even though his hair looked very rough. That man needed a hair cut and soon.

If only Sasuke was taller.

“It’s Sakura.”

“Like the flower,” Sasuke asked.

“Noooo, like the coffee shop just off of 2nd and Ontario that opened in 1992 by a family of four, Riley, Miley, Kylie, and Matthew, ” she quipped.

“Whoa, already with the sarcasm. Didn’t know that asking something like that would offend you,” Sasuke said, putting his hands up in surrender.

“Sorry, usually people ask me that question after asking my name like it wasn’t obvious. It’s literally in the name.”

“Nobody asks what my name means,” Naruto interjected.

“What does your name mean,” Sasuke sighed.

The kid stared at Sasuke blankly, trying to think of the meaning behind his name.

“Who knows,” he chuckled. “What does your name mean, Sasuke?”

“Sometimes, a name is just a name,” he responded.

“I heard you were named after some military leader in the past,” Sakura said.

“That’s what my uncle says, but he didn’t name me. My dad did.”

“Wait…” The gears were starting to click in Naruto’s head. It seemed he just figured out something. “YOU’RE UNCLE IS MADARA UCHIHA, ISN’T IT?!”

It was a subtle movement, but Kakashi moved nonetheless. They didn’t know whether or not he woke up, so all three of them spun around to face the front of the class. Each remained silent, refusing to move out of fear of making any sort of noise.

After some time, Sakura whispered, “is he asleep, Sasuke?” She made sure not to turn her head or move her mouth.

“I don’t know. His eyes are open, but they aren’t moving,” Sasuke whispered back, also making sure not to move. “I’m pretty sure he isn’t asleep because his eyes were closed before.”

“I still can’t believe your uncle is the president,” Naruto said in awe, following suit in Sasuke and Sakura’s refusal to move.

“Stupid, do you not know what whispering is?!” she hissed.

“Oops Sorry,” Naruto shrugged, still not whispering. This was the hundredth time they had both told him to whisper, yet he still had not.

All three sat in silence again for a while.

Until, suddenly, Kakashi rose from his desk and walked towards the door. He murmured something as he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

They turned to each other, then to the door, then back to each other. Sakura turned to Naruto having a huge grin and Sasuke still keeping that same not mad but certainly not happy look on his face.

_If only he was taller,_ she thought.

“Let’s escape..”

Sasuke and Sakura turned to Naruto in unison. They couldn’t believe what had just came out of his mouth.

Naruto still had that same, stupid grin on his face.

“Are you an idiot, if the teacher comes back to an empty classroom, we’ll all get in trouble,” Sasuke said.

“Why would we get in trouble if we never left,” Naruto asked. It seemed like his grin got even wider than it had before. He was onto something…

Sakura decided to play along. “What do you mean?”

“You guys never asked what my quirk was,” Naruto smirked.

“Hurry on with the reveal, he could be back any minute. I think he said he was going to use the bathroom,” Sasuke said.

“It’s cloning… and body morphing,” he smiled. It was like he made a huge plan and it worked out perfectly.

“So what,” Sasuke asked.

_Are you dumb,_ she asked, though not letting her words out. As much as he was known to be sort of a bum, that _was_ the president’s nephew. She wasn’t about to back talk him.

“I can clone all three of us and morph each of the clones to look like us,” Naruto said, spelling out the obvious.

But, a more pressing concern was on Sakura’s mind. “Wouldn’t that strain your body? Making three different clones all morphed into people you just met would put a strain on anybody.”

“Only if they’re doing complex tasks. Plus, making clones is a specialty of mine. I tend make clones a..” Naruto donned that same sad smile again. “…lot more than I should.”

_Christ, I hope he doesn’t make clone girlfriends,_ she thought.

“Okay, make the clones, we’ve wasted enough time already,” Sasuke said in a hushed tone. “I don’t sense him yet, but my skills are limited, so I can’t what’s outside in the hallway.”

“Right! Right, on it!” Naruto exclaimed. He then turned to Sakura and stared at her hard, analyzing every detail of her body, from the top of her head to her toes.

_Wait, if he clones me, does this mean that he’s going to know how I look when I’m naked?_ She tried to get the thought out of her head. _He’s cloning me, right? So, he’ll have a knowledge of how I look like. Or better question, to make my clone more accurate, should I tell him my bra size? I’m not wearing a push up or anything, but can he tell? But if I do, he’ll clone my breasts accurately, so he’ll really know how I look like under there. But, if I don’t, what if he makes them too big? Or small?_ She looked at herself. _Would the teacher even notic-_

Her thought was interrupted by a _POP_ sound. She turned around to see a light mist covering a small area next to Sasuke. A figure stood in the middle of the mist, covered by thin smoke.

There she was. She noticed that some of her features were slightly changed. She had a sharper jawline. She now possessed cheekbones. Her nose was a lot more defined and her eyebrows were thicker. And her skin was perfect, have a consistent skin tone and zero bags under her eyes.

That’s when she realized it.

“Naruto, that’s not how I look like. That clone doesn’t have make up on. You made a clone based off of my make-up, not me.”

“I don’t see any difference,” Sasuke said, examining the clone hard. He wouldn’t understand anyways, he was a boy.

“I think if Sasuke, with his perception quirk, doesn’t notice anything, then it’s fine. Now, time for the other two clones,” Naruto said. Sakura noticed a sweat on his brow.

“Hey, are you sure there isn’t a strain on you when doing this?”

“The hard part is making the clones. But after the clones are made, I won’t feel anything. It’s just…I usually just make clones of myself. I never make clones of other people,” he said with a pained grin.

_At least that answers the question of whether he makes clone girlfriends_ she thought. Naruto was starting to warm up to her a little bit.

Two pops later, and the clones were finished. Naruto was sweating hard at the end of it, but he seemed to be truthful about how the hard part was over for his face turned from pained to relief. He then made the clones move to the seats that the original three were sitting in.

“Voila! It is finished,” Naruto exclaimed.

“Good, let’s get the hell out-,” Sasuke said, but he stopped. He went from a not mad but certainly not happy face to just straight serious. “Naruto, kill the clones.”

“What do you mean,” Naruto turned around. He then made a quiet _eek_ sound and immediately the clone exploded into cloud of dust.

_Well dammit,_ she thought. She already knew that they had been caught. Slowly, Sakura turned around.

Except it wasn’t Kakshi that found them.

It was Principal Sarutobi.


	9. Chapter 9

**NARUTO**

The car ride was silent.

Naruto could feel the anger coming from Sarutobi. The man’s hands were tightly gripped on the wheel of the car as he drove them home. His face still had that same, serious expression, that refused to give away any emotion, but his eyes revealed true. Naruto made note of that early on in his childhood. Those black eyes were the only indicator on how Sarutobi truly felt.

He felt angry.

Naruto looked outside of the car window, seeing the same green and brown colored neighborhoods he’d seen a million times. He concentrated on taking his mind off of what just happened, but he kept failing at it. He would stare at a convenience store while they stopped at a stoplight, trying to think about what the people were doing inside. But his mind would always wander away and come back to detention.

It was 4:30. Detention hadn’t finished yet; there was still 20 minutes left until it was over. He had forgotten that he was sent there to wait for the principal to finish his work, not because he was in trouble.

_I’m so dumb,_ he thought. _Of course, Sarutobi would pick me up before detention was over. He would come the moment he was done with his work._

He remembered when he heard the door open. How the president’s nephew turned around first to see who it was, his face becoming more depressed than it already was. How when Naruto turned around, the principal’s face didn’t have his normal emotion. Instead, he had shown his true emotion on his face. It was subtle, with only his eyebrows moving up ever so slightly, and it was only for a second, but Naruto saw it. He saw Sarutobi’s face. The man was shocked.

As quickly as he showed his face, he hid it, changing his face back to that same cold expression.

“Naruto, it’s time to go,” Sarutobi gravely commanded.

There was a moment where nothing happened. The other two students looked back and forth from Naruto to Sarutobi as if they were witnessing a tennis match.

He remembered that feeling of shame. He had ruined any chance of making friends because of his own stupidity. With his head down to avoid contact with anyone, he slowly followed the principal out of the room.

“I cannot believe this,” Sarutobi murmured, his hands seemingly gripping the wheel even tighter now.

“I’m…” Naruto started but decided not to finish. He was afraid that apologizing would make Sarutobi madder. Every time he would mess up, Naruto found it best to just stay silent. Apologizing only resulted in an argument.

“You’re what,” Sarutobi snapped.

“Nothing,” Naruto replied.

“What? You don’t even have the decency to apologize,” Sarutobi growled. He never raised his voice at Naruto, always opting to only make his words reflect his anger and not his sound.

Naruto didn’t respond. He knew where this was going and didn’t want to deal with this today. This was his first day of school. _High_ school. And so far, it has already been terrible. He didn’t make any friends. Talked to no one except Iruka and the two guys in detention. He screwed up his chance of making friends today by getting caught sneaking out and now they probably hate him because they’re going to get more detention because of him. Naruto went back to staring out of the window, still trying to not think about what happened.

He didn’t want to cry in front of Sarutobi.

“Have I failed,” Sarutobi murmured. He always seemed to murmur that same statement when Naruto was in trouble. The first time he heard him say that phrase was when he was caught fighting a kid in the park back in seventh grade. Back when all he would do is fight. It was this big kid trying to bully a small one and he stepped in to stop it. After a struggle, he finally started to beat the big kid down when his mom came and intervened. She threatened to call the cops unless he told her “his parent’s” number. She gave him Sarutobi’s. After the mom told him that it was Naruto who was bullying her kid, the man looked at Naruto with a mixture of sadness and pity in his eyes, and on the car ride home, the only thing he said was “Have I failed you?”

Afterwards, in the summer of that year, Sarutobi adopted Naruto, becoming his legal guardian. It was weird. The man went from being this guy who would visit once a month to tell Naruto that if he was ever in an emergency, contact him and him alone to becoming his adopted father.

He remembered that day, walking out of the orphanage for the last time, saying goodbye to the staff and them giving praises for finally getting adopted. He didn’t have any friends leaving the place; most of the people he became friends with were all adopted by sixth grade. He was the second oldest kid at the orphanage next to this kid named Reto, but the guy was 17 when he left so they never talked.

After that, “have I failed” became a frequently used phrase in the house. Got detention over missed class, “have I failed”. If his grades were lower than usual, “have I failed”. Parent-Teacher conference about Naruto’s attention during class, “have I failed”. Missing the bus and making Sarutobi drive him to school instead, “have I failed”.

Trying to sneak out of detention just to make new friends for once, “Have. I. Failed.”

They finally arrived back to Sarutobi’s house. The house was big and tall. It adopted the colors of the Sarutobi family, white and brown, as well as grey and black to make the house more complete. Though the house had a modern design to it, the brown bricks gave it a nostalgic feel to it and the white and black really helped complimenting this feel by providing a modern edge to the house’s aesthetic. It had long, slim windows that covered the house everywhere that would allow the sunrise and sunset to illuminate the inside of the home with their warm, orange color. 

The house was huge, having two floors and containing five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a comfy living room with a cottage aesthetic, a kitchen, dining room, another living room on the second floor with a more modern design, an expansive garage, and a basement.

He remembered first walking in and being in awe of it all. He had never seen anything like it. Naruto tried sitting on the couch during his early days and he jumped. He had never sat in anything so comfortable. In the orphanage, there weren’t couches, only bean bags and chairs, so when he put his butt down on the couch and it didn’t feel like sitting on bricks but on clouds, it startled him. His bed went from being just a block he slept to a very comfortable mattress! It was too good to be true; there had to be a catch.

The catch was that he had to live with Sarutobi.

Living in a house with man like him is usually silent until something happens. Then, the house explodes into arguments, lectures, and screams.

“It was _always_ Naruto’s fault,” the man would say. “Why are you acting like this,” or “What is wrong with you” are examples of things his guardian would say. It was like Naruto was just some pet to Sarutobi, and when he would get in trouble, Sarutobi would act like a dog owner who was mad at their dog for peeing on the floor. He would look at him confused and then become condescending, like Naruto didn’t understand the words that were being said. And then, it was back to silence. It would be one argument and then it was never spoken about again.

The two never talked outside of arguing, so the house’s ambience was the only sound in the air 80% of the time. Naruto would take the bus home, so that meant he was usually home before Sarutobi. Thus, when Sarutobi got home, Naruto would be locked away in his room either playing video games or napping (though he was mostly napping). And when Sarutobi got home, he wouldn’t walk into his room. Instead, he would take a nap after work. Then, he would wake up, cook dinner, call Naruto down, eat with him with minimal conversation, watch the news on the TV (mostly from Capital NEWS), and then he would go to sleep. During the first days living with Sarutobi, Naruto found it surprising how little of a social life that man had. At the orphanage, that guy would always wear a warm face on his head and be very sociable with the staff when he came to visit, but at home, his expression was colder than ice, and he never left his home once he arrived. The only thing he did was go to work and nothing else. The man even had family working with him, like his nephew Asuma, but they never hung out outside of the workplace.

_I guess that’s just how he is,_ Naruto would think. _He doesn’t hate me; he’s just like that with everybody._

They walked through the big, brown wooden doors, and into the house. Naruto immediately went for the stairs. He didn’t want to hear a lecture.

“Naruto,” he said.

The kid stopped in his tracks. _I was so close_ , Naruto thought. _I was right in front of the stairs._ He turned around.

Sarutobi was looming over the long, dark wood dining table that could seat 10 people but has never seated more than two. The setting sun was shining strongly through the big window next to it, making Sarutobi look more intimidating.

“Sit down,” he commanded and then pulled out a chair from the table. He slowly walked to the other side.

Naruto lumbered over and slumped down into the chair.

It was unavoidable. It was time for a fight.

“Naruto…” he started. “Am I mad?”

“Yes,” Naruto answered, wearily.

“Why am I mad,” he said, calmly.

Sarutobi always asked this, reaffirming Naruto’s presumption that all he was to that guy was a pet; not smart enough to be considered human.

“I know why you’re mad. You know I know; can I just go to my room? I…” his voice was starting to crack but Naruto held it together. Like hell he was going to cry in front him. “I-I had a bad day. Just give me detention or ground me and be done with it.”

Sarutobi’s eyes flared. “Do you think this is just some simple issue,” he scowled. “I am not only giving you detention but also to those two friends of yours. But I’m mad that you tried to help these bad kids who were rightfully punished out of justice. Do you think you can just escape justice?”

“They’re not bad…” he whined.

“They’re in there for a reason, are they not? Naruto, what’s wrong with you? Every day, I think ‘maybe he’ll learn from this’ and then you know what happens? You do something stupid like this! What’s gotten into you? Was it those kids? Are they rotting your brain?”

It was taking all of his strength to not tear up. Naruto suppressed his sadness. He opted to only reveal his anger.

“I _said_ I’M SORRY!”

“You never even apologized! What, do you think that if you yell something that it’ll make it true!”

That managed to piss Naruto off.

“What am I to you? A DOG? Why did you adopt me if this is how you’re going to treat me! OK, I didn’t say sorry, but look I’ve had a bad day and I DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH YOUR BULLSHIT!”

“Oh, here you go. That same speech. We all have bad days, Naruto! Do you not know who I am?!”

He knew full well. He always reminded him of who he is.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, principal of Sarutobi High, a school he founded 16 years ago in ’92.

Before that he was the legendary commander of the infamously disgraced military team called “The Sannin”.

“You know what I did what I did during my time in the military? Even before my time as a Sanin? I’ve had close friends die, Naruto, and you want to talk to me about ‘ _bad days_ ’, huh. You think your day is bad because what, math was boring?” Sarutobi scoffed. “I cannot believe _this_ is what I’ve raised.”

“What _you_ raised?! I was NEVER raised by you,” Naruto snapped.

Sarutobi chuckled. “Appears so,” he said condescendingly.

This made him even more mad. Naruto angrily got up, pushing back his chair in the process.

“Where are you going,” his guardian questioned.

“I’m done.” Naruto began to storm off towards the stairs. Suddenly, he felt the air move around him and then grab him. The air then dragged him back to his chair.

“We are not done here. You leave when I say you leave,” he growled.

Naruto got up again. “I said, I’M DONE,” he yelled. He ran to the stairs again only to be knocked back by a gust of wind. Naruto slid across the wooden floor.

“Naruto,” Sarutobi sighed. “Let’s not play this childish game. Sit down.”

But there would be no stopping Naruto now. He was committed.

Again, he sprinted towards the stairs. Again, he was knocked back.

“Only an insane person does the same thing multiple times expecting something different,” Sarutobi quipped.

Naruto was becoming angrier by the second. He ran again.

This time the wind knocked him down instead of back. It pushed him to the ground and then kept pressure on top of him to keep him there.

“I’m not going to let you move unless you agree to come back to your seat.”

“Let me go!” yelled Naruto.

“Did you not just hear what I said? Only if you agree to come back to your seat.”

Naruto tried to push himself up against the pressure. He finally got an inch of the ground when the pressure increased, pushing him down again.

“You’re not getting out of this, Naruto.”

The boy started to think. He needed an escape plan. He was going to have to outsmart if strength wasn’t going to work.

“Just sit down, god, why do you have to make this so hard,” Sarutobi complained.

Naruto then made a clone of himself.

“Are you going to behave now,” the man asked.

_Ding-dong._

Sarutobi let go of Naruto and turned to the front door. Immediately, Naruto dashed up the stairs.

“Who is it,” he heard Sarutobi say as Naruto ran up the stairs. He was already in his room when the front door was opened to reveal that it was nobody.

“Naruto!” Sarutobi yelled from downstairs. “Come back down here!”

Then there was brief pause.

“Naruto, come back,” Sarutobi said, this time less energetic.

Then, it was silent.

Naruto put his head into his pillow and let it out. He started to bawl his eyes out into the pillow, making sure to not make any noise. He didn’t want Sarutobi coming back

He thought high school would be different, but it was the same as every other school. Again, he was alone. Nobody to talk to. It was like this in junior high. It was like this in the orphanage. It was like this in elementary school. Nothing’s change except the time and location.

_Is it too much to ask for change_ , he wondered. _What have I done to deserve this? Were my parents so bad that I had to be punished too?_

“I’m tired of this,” he whispered in between quiet sobs. “I’m tired of being lonely. I’m tired of Sarutobi. I’m tired of…” he began to cry even more so he crawled into his blanket and pulled it over his head. “…I’m tired of this. Why does this have to happen to me?”

He felt equally sad as he did angry. He was still angry about the argument. He was angry that he can’t make friends. He was angry at himself for screwing up his only opportunity at making friends.

“…I’m tired of being so stupid,” he whispered after the sobbing died down. “I’m…tired…”

The boy then fell into a deep sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sakura Haruno**

Naruto followed the principal out of the detention room. The boy’s eyes were shadowed by his brow, and he refused to look back at her and Sasuke.

After that, it was silent. They went back to their seats and waited for the teacher to return. When he did, Kakashi didn’t pay much mind to Naruto’s absence. He just went back to his book.

She didn’t talk for the rest of detention. Getting caught by the principal guaranteed that she wasn’t risking anything again.

_I’m probably going to have to come back here_ , she thought, exhausted by the thought of doing detention again. It wasn’t _bad_ , but she would rather be doing anything else right now.

Sasuke didn’t try talking either. It seems that he also was feeling the same way.

4:50 came and Kakashi rose from his desk.

“Ok, you can go,” he said in monotone. Then he just walked out of the room, not saying another word to the students.

Sasuke was the first to get up. He pulled out his phone and started texting away. She wanted to say something to him before he left, possibly getting his number, but he already disappeared by the time Sakura could think of something to say.

After Sasuke left, she pulled out her phone to call her parents. When she tried turning it on, she remembered that she drained the battery while in ISS.

_It wouldn’t matter where I sat, I still wouldn’t be able to use my phone_ , she reflected. _But now, I’m going to have to find a phone somewhere and call my parents_.

Her parents didn’t know that she had detention. After punching Ino, a teacher with a bowl cut and the bushiest eyebrows she had ever seen took her to the school office and told her to call them. They didn’t answer the phone, so he gave her a detention slip and told Sakura to bring the slip back signed. In her head, she laughed. _How stupid can he have been to actually believe I’d bring back the slip signed?_

In hindsight, she was the stupid one. Taking the bus home, her parents wouldn’t come to pick her up unless asked. And, now, her only option of communicating with them was gone.

She walked out of the detention room and was blinded for a second. The room was dimly lit but the hallway was bright, with the afternoon sun coming in through the windows to make it even brighter. Noise from the gym bled into the hallway, though now it wasn’t as loud as when she first walked into detention. However, she was surprised that there were still people at school on the first day.

Sakura stopped to drink water from a fountain nearby. It was a long day, and it was about to get longer, so she needed to stay hydrated. As she was drinking, the gym door slammed opened. Out from the gym, a figure in an all-white jumpsuit emerged. He stood tall and confident, with his every step seeming almost calculated. In his left hand, he carried a white helmet, with the front covered in a grey metal that was dotted in tiny holes. In his right hand, he gripped a long, needle-like sword that was grey and shined in the light. As he walked, his long, black hair danced on rhythm to the steps, and his white eyes stared ahead, leading the way.

Sakura realized that man was none other than Neji himself.

If this day had gone any other way, she would’ve had his number and later, they would’ve been texting each other and perhaps, a little more later, they would’ve been dating.

_But the day isn’t over_ , she slyly thought.

Neji strode across the hallway, towards the water fountain she was drinking at. He was drenched in sweat, but the closer he came, she couldn’t smell anything musty coming from him. In fact, the closer he came, the stronger the smell of cologne. Was the man so perfect that he did not smell when he was working out?

She was still drinking from the fountain when Neji came behind her. The moment he came, she moved away. Her butt was not her most attractive feature, so Sakura didn’t want him to see it.

It seemed almost robotic how he drank from the fountain. His entire body moved like it had just been giving a formula; he moved down 120 degrees, his arms moved forward a few centimeters, and his thumbs pushed gently on the lever wit a force of .9 Newtons. After he was done drinking, he arose from the fountain and his long hair moved beautifully backwards and then lightly landed on his shoulders. 

_What should I say?_ This entire time, all she did was watch him drink water. Though Neji seemed he hadn’t noticed, she couldn’t stand there without saying anything. She had made an entire plan for this interaction but now, the plan was thrown out the window. Her hair was messy now due to her sleeping on the floor. She wasn’t even sure if her makeup still looked good.

_Talk_ , something inside of her yelled. _Do it, now!_

_Now!_ It became louder. Neji was turning to walk away.

_This is your only chance!_

_Now! Do IT!_

_NOW!_

“H-Hey,” she squeaked.

Neji turned around. She was closer to him now and noticed his skin. It had no acne and zero blemishes. He was sweaty, but his sweat only served to make his face shine bright in the light.

“Yes,” he said.

_DON’T SCREW UP_ “You’re Neji, right?”

“Yes, I am. Do you need something,” he asked. His white eyes looked in her direction, but they did not look at Sakura. They stared right through her.

“Oh, that’s cool, my name is Sakura Haruno,” she said, smiling. The girl held out her hand to shake his.

Neji started to look irritated. “I cannot shake your hand, their occupied at the moment.”

“Oh right,” she scratched her head. “Sorry, just force of habit. So…You’re into fencing, huh?”

“Child,” he said, like they were not the same age. “I am a busy man, so I do not have time for this frivolous talk.”

“Oh right, you have to go back to…fencing and stuff,” she said awkwardly. Sakura noticed that she had started fiddling her thumbs together.

“Yes, fencing and stuff, so if you could excuse me,” he rotated and marched off. The gym door slammed and the knight in shining armor was gone. The damsel, distressed, continued her search for a phone.

_Goddamn it, there goes my chances at sitting at the pond_. She sighed, defeated. 

Sakura plodded to the front office only for it to be completely empty. The office was closed, and more importantly, locked.

“This has just been the best day, hasn’t it,” she angrily murmured as she walked out the front doors. “I am just having the best day of my entire fucking life.”

She thought about going back to the gym and asking someone for a phone, but after shuddering at the interaction between her and Neji, she marched forward, walking out of the school through the glass doors and into the school yard.

She sat down on the pond wall and stared at the water. Her anger boiled within her. Everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong today. And now, she didn’t have a ride to go home. All she could do was stare at the fish in the pond in envy. _They’ve had a better day than me. I wonder if fish have crushes and if they’re as dumb as I am at talking to them._

Sakura looked away from the pond. She didn’t want to start wishing she was a fish, that would be weird. She looked around, trying to think about what she was going to do about her situation.

_Maybe I could try to catch Mr. Kakashi in the parking lot and use his phone._

The speed at which he walked out talked her out of doing that. She wasn’t catching him; the man was already at home at this point, reading that book of his.

_What’s the worst that can happen if you go back to the gym?_

Her anger rose again. She took her mind off that suggestion.

_Are the classrooms locked? Classes usually have a phone in there._

_Nooo, the janitor has probably locked the classrooms._

It was like a light bulb appeared over her head.

_The JANITOR! He has to be here still. I can use his pho-_

Anko’s voice rang in her head. Sakura recalled what she said. “Hey, I’m going to escort you to the detention room now, make sure to not forget anything in here cause I’m going to leave and I’m the only person besides the _weird_ janitor…”

Was the janitor really that weird? Anko was adamant about Sakura taking all her stuff out of the ISS room. The lady even asked her again before she locked the door, making sure that that none of Sakura’s belongings were in the room when they left.

_How else are you getting home? That’s your only option._

But she still felt hesitant. With the way today was going, this screamed bad decision. But, with no answer on how else she was getting home, Sakura rose from the pond walls and started walking towards the front doors.

That’s when she saw them.

In the reflection of the glass on the front door, she could see a group of guys and a girl gathered by the school driveway. She turned to get a better look and smiled.

It was Sasuke. He hadn’t left yet.

_Now’s your chance,_ the voice said again. But she was unconfident. When she last listened to the voice, she was made a fool. Only an insane person does the same thing twice expecting a different result.

_But, would you rather speak to a possibly creepy janitor?_

It was only possibly. That didn’t mean guaranteed. The man could be misunderstood.

_What if instead of offering his phone, he offers you a ride home?_

She sprinted towards Sasuke.

When Sakura arrived at the group, she was breathing heavily. Running across the entire school yard was not a good decision, though good decisions seemed few and far between today.

“Sas…” she stopped to catch her breath. “Sasuke.”

The boy turned away from his group of friends and to her. Sakura was slouched slightly, with one hand on her hips while the other on a concrete pillar that stood between the road and the sidewalk, and yet they were same height.

“Yeah,” he answered, confused. His friends looked at her then Sasuke with interested eyes.

_They probably think I’m going to ask for his number_ , she thought, giving no mind to it.

_They probably think I’m going to ask for his number,_ she thought again, realizing that she was asking Sasuke to use his phone.

She then thought about arriving at the janitor’s house instead of her own when she accepted the offer to receive a ride home.

“Can I use your phone,” she asked, her breath having caught up to her. Sakura tried to not pay attention his friends whispering and giggling at her while exchanging winks.

“Yeah, you can, here,” he said, his voice trying to stay composed. He seemed to look kind of awkward as he pulled his phone out from his pocket.

_Does he find me cute,_ she thought fondly. She took the phone from his hand and started dialing her mom’s number. _Was he talking about me to his friends?_ It made her feel warm inside, knowing at least her makeup didn’t go completely to waste.

She pressed call and waited. She listened to the dial tones and the giggles that came from behind her as she waited.

“Stop it, Suigetsu,” Sakura heard Sasuke say, in a hushed tone.

Her mom didn’t answer the phone. She sighed. _Of course,_ she thought. She then dialed her dad.

“Hey, did your parents answer the phone,” the one with the straight, white hair asked. When she got a better look, she noticed that it had a blue tint to it.

“Not yet, I’m calling my dad. My mom didn’t answer,” she called back.

_Come on, pick up. I don’t want to be stuck here_ , she hoped as the dial tones rang.

“Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voicemail system-”

Sakura groaned and hung up the phone.

“Did they pick up,” the straight-haired boy asked again.

“No,” Sakura admitted. Defeated, she handed the phone back to Sasuke.

“What happened to your phone,” the straight-haired boy asked concerningly, stepping out from the group and towards her.

“It ran out of battery while I was in ISS,” she replied.

“ISS?” said the only girl of the group. Her voice was deep and smooth, sounding almost grown compared to the other kids. The girl had dark-red spiky hair that came down to one side of her head while the other side had been cut short. She wore round, black glasses and through them revealed red eyes and long lashes.

“Yeah, ISS…” Sakura responded, quietly.

The straight-haired boy gasped. “You’re the girl that got in a fight with someone today,” 

“Yep…That’s me,” she said, forcing a smile.

“That’s hot,” the red-haired girl said.

“But your parents didn’t answer the phone,” Suigetsu said. “Maybe you want to try calling them again?”

“Nooo, I think I’m just going to wait for them here, you guys can go,” Sakura responded.

The straight-haired boy looked shocked. “What, all alone? Where do you live?”

She contemplated whether to tell him or not, but he looked so genuinely concerned that it convinced her to tell.

“I live by Kawarmachi mall, near the highway.”

“Damn, that’s far,” the kid said. He looked down and rubbed his chin in contemplation. “Ok, bit of a stretch, but what about you ask your parents to pick you up from where we’re going.”

Sakura looked at them blankly. “Where are you going…” she hesitantly asked.

“My house,” Sasuke interjected.

“But we usually walk there,” the redhead said, voice smooth as butter. “If we walked straight there without stopping, it would take thirty minutes. But we usually don’t walk straight there.”

“This group is of the mindset that it isn’t about the destination, but about the journey,” said the guy with spiky, orange hair. The man stood out from the group because of how massive he was. At least taller than six feet, he had muscles that were wider than Sakura’s head; his hands looked as if they could rip off her face with one swing. But his face did not reflect his body, having a sort of soft, warm quality to it. The way those dark brown eyes looked at her, it seemed like he wasn’t really here, but somewhere off in his own world, lost in thought. 

“The…journey?” she asked, confused.

“He’s just trying to sound deep. We usually grab food or go to the arcade; just wherever the day takes us,” answered the white-haired kid.

_It’s better than a ride home with the creepy janitor,_ she thought. _But what’re they planning on doing? The weather’s nice, but do I really want to walk at least 30 minutes through the city just to not be alone for maybe an hour or two?_

Suddenly, the front door swung open, and kids in white uniforms started to fill the school yard. They were all laughing, giggling, arguing, and some had burst through the doors sprinting, trying to chase each other. Without their helmets, their sweaty faces gleamed in the sunlight, and their white uniforms reflected the sunlight, making the school yard brighter and harder to see who all were in that group. Regardless, Sakura saw him. He was right in the front, leading the charge. Her knight in shining armor.

_I can’t be here!_ “Yeah, for sure. I’m down. Let’s go. Which way are we heading,” she blurted. “That way?” She pointed away from the white knights heading their way.

“No, that way,” Sasuke said, pointing in the opposite direction she pointed at.

_Behind me? That’s fine_. “Ok, let’s go!” Sakura enthusiastically turned around and marched in that direction. The rest of the group hesitantly followed.

Soon, they were out of the school, and into the main town of Asamachi. The school was in the heart of the main city, but the city itself wasn’t very big. It didn’t have the high skyscrapers or sprawling crowds of people like the ones in The Capital. Instead, it had medium sized buildings that were all housing local markets and small crowds of people that roamed on the wide sidewalks. The traffic in the city was busier than normal, with many cars filling the narrow streets, but that was only because it was rush hour. Usually, the streets were empty, with only the occasional shuttle or bike rider on it. Though it was rush hour, the city was quiet as it always was. There wasn’t the honking that covered the air like in the capital, instead, there was only the hum of the car engines and the sound of Asamachi’s citizens.

“Hey,” Sasuke said, walking next to her. “You should text your parents that your phone’s dead and to call this one instead.” Sakura grabbed the phone and did exactly what he said.

“So, Sasuke. You gonna introduce us to your girlfriend?” the redhead said, smiling.

“Damn it, Karin. How many times do I have to tell you, she isn’t my girlfriend,” he scowled.

“But we do need an introduction if she’s going to be with the squad for a day,” the straight-haired boy chimed in.

“The..squad?” Sakura looked at him confused.

“It’s a gang, Suigetsu,” the buff man said, his face smothered in his open notebook. “It sounds cooler if it’s a gang.”

“I still think team is better,” said Karin.

The straight-haired kid stopped walking. He furrowed his brow and pointed at Karin angrily. “Woman, I have never heard a more wrong answer.”

“Team of what,” Sakura blurted. This was becoming too much for her.

“Right! We haven’t introduced ourselves yet. Ahem,” the straight-haired kid nudged at Sasuke. “Sasuke, wanna introduce us?”

The emo boy sighed. “Ok, the one with the hair that looks like it was cut with children’s scissors is Suigetsu. The big man who looks at his notebook all day but is too dumb to know how to write is Jugo. And, the girl who tries to act older than her age but is actually the youngest is Karin.”

They all looked at him in anger. “Hey, bum,” Suigetsu gravely said. “I’ll show you hair cut with children’s scissors on that untrimmed head of yours.”

Sasuke continued, unbothered. “And guys, this is Sakura. I met her in detention. Sakura, welcome to the Taka…” he looked at them hesitantly, trying to think about his next words. “…Group.”

“It’s Squad!”

“Gang!”

Karin didn’t give a response. “It’s nice to meet you, Sakura,” she cooed.

Sakura was starting to feel unsettled by her. _Why is her voice so deep? She’s a freshman, right?_

“Nice to meet you…too,” she responded, awkwardly.

“Don’t be weirded out by Karin,” Suigetsu said, playfully. “She acts like a seductress but is still a virgin like the rest.”

“Not true!” The woman squeaked in a high voice. That must’ve been her natural voice. “I’ve had sex… in 7th grade!”

“I wonder with who,” he playfully pondered.

“His name was Jimmy,” she whined.

“I’ve never heard of him before.”

“H-He goes to a different school…” murmured Karin.

“Last time I checked, Sarutobi High was the only high school in this town and there isn’t a guy named Jimmy who goes here.”

“…He moved before high school…”

“Where,” Suigetsu asked.

Karin didn’t answer. The white-haired boy looked at Sakura and winked. “Told ya’.”

They continued their walk through the city, the group arguing with each other the entire time. It seemed when one argument died down, out of nowhere, another topic introduced itself. It went from team names to whether a homework assignment was due to just general roasts. Every member argued with each other, with Karin starting an argument with Jugo, then Suigetsu arguing with Jugo, then both arguing with Karin.

All argued with each other except Sasuke. He stayed quiet, leading the group through the city and never looking back, only straight ahead. Sakura walked next to him, not knowing how to interact with the other members of the gang. She attempted to talk with him, but his responses were always short and did not give her a lot to work with. Thus, they both walked in silence.

Soon, after thirty minutes of walking, they stopped in front of a convenience store and walked inside. The store was modest size, by far not the biggest the city had to offer. It was filled with snacks, drinks, and in certain sections, books and magazines, over the counter medicine, and cigarettes. Inside, there was only an old man sweeping the floor next to the counter. His body looked strong, with every sweep giving no hint at weakness. In fact, the only indicator of his age was his face. He had few wrinkles on his face and around his warm, green eyes. His head was balding, with only few wisps of hair that managed to stay behind on the top of his head, while the rest laid on the side and back, colored in silver.

“Mr. Uchiha,” the old man said, smiling as he swept. “I hear Sarutobi High has started school again. How was your first day?”

“It was fine,” the boy said as his friends ran through the shop collecting snacks, drinks, and magazines. “Nothing happened really.”

“Oooh, but things will happen soon. Today is a big day. Your first day of high school. You’re on your way to becoming an adult,” said the old man. “I remember my first day of high school, oh so long ago. Good times. Remember to cherish these days, child. One day, you’ll grow up and wonder where all the time went.” He gave a hearty laugh then turned to Sakura. “I don’t recognize you. Are you a new friend of his?”

“You could say that,” she said. “I’m Sakura Haruno.”

“Goro Miyazaki,” he shook her hand firmly. “How do you guys know each other?”

“We both had detention today,” she said, immediately regretting it.

Goro sighed. “On the first day, Sasuke? You can’t start the year off like this.”

“Old man, I don’t need you to tell me what I can or can’t do,” the boy snapped.

“Yes yes, of course,” Goro wearily responded. He moved to the back of the store and into the closet to put away his broom. “You hear the news about your uncle,” he hollered from the back.

“What of him,” Sasuke responded, seemingly bothered by this.

The man came out with a bucket filled with soapy water and a mop. “He’s just announced his reelection campaign.” He dropped the bucket on the floor and started mopping. “Your uncle really won’t give up his throne. If he wins this one, he’ll be president for THREE terms, not mentioning finishing Minato’s term.”

“Will you be voting for him,” Sakura asked. 

Goro laughed. “I never do, child. But he’ll win regardless, like always. The man’s a genius at that. And as long as he keeps winning, Sasuke will keep buying shit from my store, keeping me in business,” he gave a cheeky smile. “So, I guess I should start voting for him, huh?”

She looked at Sasuke, expecting him to say something to defend his uncle, but the boy seemed to agree with the old man. She even almost caught a smile on his face.

The rest of the group came to the front of the store with their hands filled with snacks, drinks, and, in Jugo’s case, magazines. Goro smiled at the children. “Need a bag for those?”

“Preferably,” Suigetsu answered. The old man put the mop in the bucket, went behind the counter, and came back with plastic bags for the kids. The gang put their goodies into their bags and walked out of the store.

“That’ll be 50 ryo, Mr. Uchiha.”

“Send the bill to my uncle,” Sasuke responded as he walked out the door.

“As I always do,” he said, smiling. “Have a good evening, Sasuke. Today is the start of something new, remember that. And, it was nice meeting you, Sakura.”

“Nice meeting you too,” she said, following Sasuke out.

They exited the store and entered the city again. The traffic had died down a lot, and the sidewalks that had small crowds of people were empty, with only the occasional couple walking on it. The sun was setting, and its orange evening glow was now covering the city. _A lot of time has passed,_ Sakura thought. Why hadn’t her parents called her back yet? She was starting to worry something may have happened to them.

“Sakura,” the big man said. “Have some.” Jugo handed her a bag of potato chips from the store. She happily obliged. She ate the chips while trying to take her mind off her parents. 

They continued their walk through the city for another twenty minutes until they reached an empty park that sat between two buildings in a neighborhood. At this point, they were reaching the edge of the city. The buildings were starting to become more spread out from each other, and the markets were diminishing, being replaced by apartments and townhouses.

The park they went to was essentially a glorified parking lot. The entire floor was cement that was covered in cracks because of the couple cherry blossom trees that were placed almost randomly throughout the park were pushing up the concrete with their roots. In the middle stood a small playground with pair of black, metal swings. To the left of the playground was a singular basketball goal post that was surrounded by faded white lines on the floor. In front of the playground was a one of the couple table benches that were in the lot. The gang sat down at the table and ate their food while chatting.

“Sakura,” Suigetsu said, after a while. His voice was muffled by the brownie in his mouth. He swallowed it, then washed it down with lemonade. “What do you think of us so far?”

She was finishing the bottle of fruit punch that he gave her after she realized that the chips Jugo gave were hotter than expected. “You guys are cool,” she said after swallowing the last drop of juice.

“What about Sasuke,” Karin slyly asked, while staring at him. This time, Sasuke didn’t give a response. His mind was away from the conversation and at the swings he was staring at.

“He’s…cool,” she responded coolly. She quickly glanced at him and then to the group and whispered, “is he okay?”

“Sasuke? He’s fine,” Suigetsu answered. “As long as we’ve known him, he doesn’t tend to interact a lot.”

Karin chimed in. “He’s just in his own world most of the time. Sure, he’ll speak when spoken too; he knows how to socialize. It’s just, he prefers staying quiet.”

“If he’s so quiet, how did you guys meet,” Sakura asked.

“Same way you met him,” Karin answered. “You happen to be stuck together in a bad situation, next thing you know, you’re hanging out with him.”

“He is an enigma. A man who hates the idea of socialization and yet, attracts members of his community to him like moths to a light,” Jugo said. He had finished his food and was reading a magazine that was filled with comic strips and illustrations of the feminine counterparts of popular superheroes.

_He really is an enigma_ , she thought as she stared at Sasuke. _Whatever that means._

They sat in the park for a while until the sky began to turn purple, chatting away, as Sasuke still kept his mind immersed in another world away. She was starting to really connect with the group when the sound of music burst into the park, interrupting their chatter. It had a bright, catchy tune that looped every five seconds until Sasuke pulled out his phone from his pocket.

“It’s for you,” he said.

She answered the phone. It was her mom.

“Sakura, honey, are you okay? I’m so sorry for not answering the phone, your father and I were at this dinner party that was hosted by my friend, Castro. You know Castro? My boss? You know the guy, he’s from Kiri, anyways, we went to this absolutely wonderful party, and during our time there, our phones were on silent, but we assumed that you went home with the bus so we didn’t pay much mind to it-“

They eventually settled on Sakura getting picked up from Sasuke’s house. Her parents were on the way to the house, so the group threw away their trash and rushed home. After twenty minutes of running, they made it to the Uchiha house, right when her parents were pulling into the driveway.

“It was nice meeting you, Sakura,” Suigetsu said, giving her a hug.

“Yeah, it was nice meeting you guys,” she responded. She turned to walk to the car but then stopped midway and turned back to the group.

Smiling, she said, “we should do this more often.”

Sakura got into the car and headed home. As she looked out the window and at the now dark purple sky, she thought about the day that just past and hanging out with the Taka Gang. How she got into a fight with Ino (which she probably was going to have to apologize for later), in-school suspension and meeting Anko, and detention.

_The big day,_ she thought. _My first day of high school. So far, it seems to be going pretty well. I wonder what this year has to offer_.

She smiled in anticipation.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its time to get the plot moving.

**Sasuke Uchiha**

The car zoomed off. Sakura’s parents seemed very anxious to leave his house. They were nervous saying hi to Sasuke. The two didn’t even say anything to him; just a polite wave and nod were given at the group of kids in the driveway.

Sakura was hugging Suigetsu when Sasuke noticed something off. The driveway had other cars in it. He looked back at his house, a medium sized mansion donning a traditional Uchiha style. It had black wood that climbed up the walls until it reached the redwood that traced every corner and the bottom of the dark tiled roof. The roof had many points on it. They almost looked like waves with how curved each point were, and in the middle of each wave was a redwood wall, trying to break through. At the top of the mansion stood a patio that had a short, black wood fence and a roof. This is where Sasuke would spend hours at, just staring at the city of Asamachi.

The mansion was fenced off by black brick, with a metal gate in the front to allow entry to the large circular driveway. The driveway was separated from the house by a small moat that traced its front side. The only way across was a redwood bridge that had lanterns on each end to light the way at night, which was almost upon them by the time the group made it home.

The driveway was usually empty when they came home but today, it had other cars in it.

Three cars. All black luxury SUVs.

“We should do this again sometime,” a voice said in the background. It brought Sasuke back to reality. He watched the car zoom off with the anxious parents and their cool daughter. After they were gone, he was again be confronted by his thoughts. _Why are there three cars in my driveway? I don’t even own a single car._

“Someone’s home,” Jugo said, head immersed in his comic magazine.

“Were you expecting someone today,” Karin asked, her voice at her normal high pitch because Sakura left.

“We should probably head home,” Suigetsu suggested, gesturing for the group to leave. “He has guests over so we shouldn’t bother them.”

“It’s fine,” Sasuke interjected, though still cautious about who would be at his house right now.

_Madara is starting his campaign, could it be local journalists trying to grab an interview?_

He was no stranger to journalists. Sasuke knew that he was perceived mostly as the president’s bum nephew, but he was still the nephew of the most powerful man in the Konoha and part of the Uchiha Family, the most notable family in the region. Thus, when journalists ran out of material to write about, they came knocking at his door to interview him. When he was younger, the journalists were almost second family with how often they came to interview Itachi. Back then, it was usually about the deaths of his father, Fugaku, and his other uncle, Inabi, but as Itachi got older, it became interviews about politics, with his brother being publicly against most of Madara’s policies. But, when his brother disappeared, the journalists scarcely came. Sasuke was never outspoken like Itachi, and when he was interviewed, he never gave the interviewers a lot to work with. Nonetheless, on rare occasions, some journalists would come and ask him things about his uncle that Sasuke had no knowledge of. These things would range from alleged crimes to simple matters like foreign trade. Luckily, the interviews would never make it to the public. He didn’t want to be in the public eye. Being perceived as a nobody was better than perceived as someone. Sasuke just wanted to live his life in peace, away from people and the world.

_But journalists usually wait outside. Nobody would grant them access into the house._

The group walked on the bridge, heading towards the house. The rest kept talking as Sasuke’s mind repeated the same thought.

_Three black SUVs._

The thought kept hammering away in his head, each repeat becoming louder than the last.

_Three black SUVs._

They had made it past the bridge and now were at the front door. The mansion loomed over them. Its shadow covered the front yard and driveway. Sasuke’s mind kept running.

_It’s damn near 7:00. The maids would’ve left by now, their shift ends at 5. How did they get in? Have they been waiting since before 5? Why would they wait this long? Did they come for me? Of course, they did, I’m the only one who lives here._

“Sasuke,” Suigetsu said in a calm, concerned tone. “You okay?”

His face must’ve reflected the inner turmoil in his head for Suigetsu to ask. However, that man always knew the inner thoughts of Sasuke even though he had no telepathy quirk.

“I’m fine,” he muttered. Sasuke pushed the thoughts to the back of his head, trying to let them not bother him.

He then opened the front door.

The house was usually silent, but this time, the faint murmurs from one of the sitting rooms carried throughout the hallways and into the front entrance. As they walked inside, Sasuke used his perception quirk to hear the words being said.

“…The most notable thing about this town, besides its forgotten history, is that school,” a somewhat recognizable voice said. “So, holding-,” the voice paused, suddenly. Like it had been spotted.

“Are you listening, boy,” the voice asked, in a calm tone. That’s when Sasuke knew who the voice belonged to.

“Nevermind, go home,” Sasuke whispered to Suigetsu.

“Got it,” the kid whispered back. He started to gather the rest of the group when the voice boomed from the sitting room.

“Come on now, introduce me to your friends!”

The kids froze like deer in front of headlights. Like the wood floors had turned into quicksand. The fear held them all captive. So close to escaping, the voice had caught them just as they were leaving. Now the group had to endure Sasuke’s fate. Slowly, they made their way through the hallways and into the sitting room.

The sitting room matched the ancient aesthetic that the house had, except the wood walls were painted brown. It was bigger than most rooms, made with the purpose of seating at least twenty guests comfortably. It had two levels. The first one which was the general area made for guests had a bar and a small coffee table across from it that was surrounded by small comfy chairs. The second level sat only half a meter below the first. It was where the black leather couches sat in front of the TV and fireplace. Beyond that was the backyard patio that was separated by glass doors that were wide open. On the patio was two men, seated on either end of a dark, metallic table.

The one on the left side sat straight up, his body looking ready to attack at any moment. He wore a long, black cloak that covered everything except his head. His face was covered by a freakish, orange mask that was carved with many ridges that all spiraled to a singular point: the left eyehole. It was the only hole on the mask. Sasuke knew this man very well, seeing the masked man much when he was younger.

That man was Tobi.

On the other end was a man in an unbuttoned black suit slumped into his chair, right hand on his forehead. He had black, spiky hair, though it was a lot shorter than Sasuke remembered it. Nonetheless, it still reached past down his face and was held back by that same black bandana with red patterns that always laid on top his forehead. For a man damn near sixty, he didn’t look a day past forty, with his hair not showing a single sign of grey and his face only possessing small wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. When he noticed the kids approaching him, he gave them a big, white smile.

When the Taka group saw him, they all got on one knee and bowed, like the man was not their president but their king. All except Sasuke. He only stared at the man.

The man was Madara Uchiha.

His uncle laughed. “I’m only your president, please don’t overindulge me,” he spoke in that same, deep tone that tried to give off warmth. It may sound warm to most but to Sasuke, it was only the most chilling tone he’s ever heard. “Are these your friends, Sasuke?”

“Yes,” the boy responded, timid. Madara coming back was not a good sign. This was the first time they had talked to each other in years, the last time being when Itachi disappeared. The man always came back when things were wrong, never when they were right.

“Are you going to introduce me,” he said, now sitting up from his slumped position.

“This is Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo,” Sasuke quickly responded.

“And we’re…the taka squad…” Suigetsu murmured.

“Gang…” Jugo whispered back.

“Well, kids, I’m pretty sure you know who I am judging how you bowed to me,” he chuckled. “And you better not start calling me _your grace_ either. Mr. Uchiha or hell, just Madara is fine.” Their president rose from his seat. “It is a pleasure to meet my nephew’s friends,” he said, smiling and shaking their hands. When shaking Jugo’s hand, Madara made a remark and everyone laughed except Tobi and Sasuke. The boy was not paying attention. He had his head pointed towards the ground and away from his uncle. _He’s back,_ his thoughts repeated, which bothered him more than the three SUVs outside.

A strong hand grabbed his shoulder and Sasuke flinched.

“Do you have plans with your friends today,” his uncle asked, hand rubbing the boy’s shoulder in an attempt to be soothing but instead, it came off threatening. Madara always tried to be kind to him, but the cruelty he showed Itachi was never far from Sasuke’s mind. At any moment, this kindness could turn to cold, calculated wrath.

“N-No,” stuttered the boy.

“Okay,” his uncle said, smiling. He turned to the rest of the group. “I’ll organize rides for all of you. Though I only have one person in my Personal Guard, I have an abundance of drivers that I take with me everywhere. Also,” he pulled out his wallet and gave each kid twenty Ryo. “Tell the drivers to stop by wherever you want and get yourself something to eat. Or whatever twenty Ryo can get ya.”

After escorting the excited kids out of the mansion, Madara instructed Sasuke to stay in the sitting room they were just in. The boy took a spot on the far end of the couch. Madara poured a drink from the bar.

“Well, Christ. Look at this Tobi,” Madara exclaimed. His son gave no response, as always. “Sasuke, you know what I told Tobi? That these drinks would be empty when I come by. I mean, leave a kid home alone and he’ll drink all the liquor! I swore it, on my grave of my brothers! But these things are fucking full! Did the maids not allow you to drink at all?”

It was Itachi that didn’t allow Sasuke to touch the liquor. His brother made him promise to never touch it. However, his maids would probably allow Sasuke to shoot a man on his front doorstep as long as they got paid at the end of the week. The maids never even talked to him, much less enact discipline. Those things weren’t in the job description.

“Yeah,” Sasuke responded.

“Well, they need a raise. They’re raising you right,” Madara said, approaching the couch, drink in hand. He took a seat across Sasuke. Tobi stood guard a few meters away, his gaze looming over the entire room.

“You looked shocked to see me, Sasuke,” the president concerningly said as he sipped from his drink. “Did nobody tell you I was coming?”

“No,” Sasuke responded.

“Huh. I could’ve sworn that I told Dahlia ahead of time. Doesn’t matter. I’m here now.” He took another sip from his drink. “Do you know I’m starting my reelection campaign?”

“Yes,” Sasuke responded, immediately regretting it. He didn’t want to tell Madara who Goro was and have him find out Goro’s political opinions. 

“Wow, look,” Madara said emotionally. “My nephew keeps up with the news on his dear uncle. Isn’t that sweet, Tobi?”

Tobi gave no response.

“Yes, I’m starting my reelection campaign. Won’t be too much of a challenge. The people I’m up against are nobodies so I don’t think I’ll have a hard time dealing with them.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything. He sat silently and let Madara talk.

“Plus, the Uzumaki Party has already come out to endorse me, _on time_ for once. Christ, last time, they waited _so_ long to endorse me, it could’ve cost the election.”

Madara put his feet up on the table and allowed his body to slump into the couch.

“And obviously, the Uchiha Family is in support of their fellow member, so now, I have two major endorsements so this race will be a lot easier, I think. I was talking with Tobi about this, I’m thinking about switching to one core issue instead of a lot of general ones to really engage the people. All the other candidates right now are talking about ‘ _oh I can make a better leader, just trust me_ ’ but won’t give anything specific as to how, just making general, empty promises of a better country. But, if I give the people a _singular_ goal instead of a general one, it’ll engage the audience in making them feel like they’re working together to achieve something when they vote for me. It’ll make the community of voters feel a lot more united than before. Isn’t that genius? I think so. So, after saying all this, why do you think I’m here?” 

Silence filled the air for a while until Sasuke realized Madara asked a question.

“I-I-uh,” was all that came from Sasuke’s mouth.

“I’m here to hold a rally at your school!” He said it like Sasuke was getting surprised with a brand-new car. “Isn’t that great?”

“Yeah,” responded the boy, timid.

“I’ll be holding it at the end of the week. I already talked to Principal Sarutobi, bless that veteran. Went from the army to teaching kids, the man truly cares about his country. I sent some people earlier to inform him that I wanted to a hold rally there and he happily obliged. Anyways, Sasuke, I came here early because I want you to give a speech at my rally.”

The statement shocked Sasuke. He didn’t want the public eye on him. The most anyone ever thought of him was the president’s bum nephew and he wanted to keep it that way.

“What,” Sasuke managed to blurt out. “N-No…” he said, hesitantly.

Madara leaned forward from his slumped position and put on that same smile he had when Sasuke’s friends walked in. But this time, his uncle’s eyes didn’t reflect the face. They were instead offended at the disobedience.

“Sasuke…” the president started, voice lower and colder than before. Tobi began to creep closer towards Sasuke like a predator. “I’ve decided to focus on education. Now, you go to Sarutobi High, and are my nephew. Having you speak there will be very beneficial. There’s emotional resonance with audiences when you have younger members of the family support you and you’re the only child on my side of the family. You understand this, right?”

“Y-Yes,” responded Sasuke. He knew any more insubordination and Tobi would attack his prey. 

“Great! I’ll prepare you for the speech. Teach you how to talk to crowds, what you’ll say, etc. By the time of the rally, you’ll be speaking like you were the president himself,” he laughed but his eyes never left Sasuke and they still had that same offended look in them. “Anyways, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go to sleep. It has been a long trip and I am tired.”

Madara got up from the couch and walked away, leaving his unfinished drink on the table. Tobi lingered for a little bit but eventually left, leaving Sasuke alone in the sitting room. Those two were done threatening. They knew that Sasuke wasn’t going to disobey.

They knew Sasuke wasn’t Itachi.


	12. MAP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be useful cause next chapter there are references to some new countries. The map is labeled with country name and type of government.   
> (Don't worry about any city names and stuff. The map ain't completely done yet)


	13. Chapter 13

**NARUTO**

It was dark outside when Naruto woke up.

He looked around, trying to figure out if he had slept for a few minutes or until the next morning. When he looked at his alarm clock, it said 5:40 am. He had slept through the rest of the day and night. Naruto had another thirty minutes before he had to wake up but after considering how long he slept for, he decided to get up now rather than later.

His morning routine was no different than any other day, but when he was finished, the clock said it was 6:10 am. Naruto decided to make some breakfast and go to the couch to watch TV. The only thing on was the news and cartoons for kids.

_I’m too grown to watch cartoons,_ he thought. _Let me try the news._

“Welcome to Channel 6 News based in Asamachi. Today is August 21st, 7008. My name is Akira Mirai. Tensions are high this morning between the leaders of the Kumo and the Konoha. Summer’s end is approaching which means the start of talks of trade but last night, at a feast with many of Kumo’s political figures, Kumo king Fredrick Bjorn II expressed frustration over the lack of communication between the neighboring countries all year. In a drunken state, he accused the president-.”

Naruto immediately switched to the cartoons. _That’s boring_ , he thought. He watched a purple duck sing the ABC’s with a monkey in a top hat. It was annoying, but at least entertaining.

“Aren’t you too old to be watching shows about the alphabet,” Sarutobi said, startling Naruto. The man came around from the back of the couch and sat next to Naruto. “You didn’t wake up at all yesterday.”

“Yeah,” he responded. It was 6:30 am and _now_ Sarutobi wants to start an argument. _Today is going to be great as well, huh_ , he thought cynically.

Sarutobi looked at Naruto, trying to figure out what to say next. After much thought, he eventually sighed. “You can take the bus today. Remember to make yourself some breakfast before you leave,” he said, tired. His guardian left the house, leaving Naruto by himself with cartoons. He watched the duck and his friend sing for another thirty minutes until it was time to leave. Naruto grabbed his stuff, locked the door, and left the house. It was now time to start the second day of high school.

******

And so far, it was terrible.

His first class was boring. Sure, it was homeroom, but without any friends, homeroom was equivalent to detention. You don’t talk to anybody and there is nothing to do but wait until it is over. Mr. Umino was too busy telling the students to stop talking so loudly to ever talk to Naruto. He would’ve used his phone, but he had no contacts except Sarutobi and Iruka, and even if he did have contacts, cellphone use was not allowed in homeroom and Naruto wasn’t going to disrespect Iruka like that.

His second class, English, managed to be even more boring than the last class. Lead by his detention teacher, Mr. Kakashi was just as energetic in detention as he was in class. The entire time, he slowly read some Konoha book that was two ages old about some girl in love with a high-class guy. The teacher would read a paragraph then go on a long, random tangent on how society was during that time, never giving a drop of energy to his words. 

His third class, Biology, struck Naruto in a weird way. The teacher didn’t say hi to any of the other students except Naruto and always singled him out during class when asking a question to the students. The bio teacher had long, grey, spiky hair, that reached all the way down to his butt and was always smiling. He was very passionate, having a lot of energy to him and seemed to try and make the class as fun as possible.

“Call me Jiraiya, not Mr. Jiraiya,” the teacher said the first day of class. “Calling me Mr. Jiraiya is weird because Jiraiya is my first name. And I don’t have a last name, so just calling me mister is also weird.”

Naruto could’ve sworn that Jiraiya was looking straight at him while saying that.

Lunch was okay. Iruka came to sit next to him and they talked to each other like they did the day before.

“Naruto,” Iruka said as lunch was coming to an end. “You should consider joining a club or something to make more friends at school. When I graduated, a lot of my friends from high school didn’t go to the same college as me, which meant I had to figure out how to make new friends to replace my old ones. And you know what I did?”

“What?”

“I joined a club.”

“What club did you join,” Naruto asked as he ate the brownie Mr. Umino gave him.

“I joined a philosophy club,” Iruka said, smiling. “The memories I made in that club is something I will cherish for a long time.”

“I don’t think I’m a philosophy kind of guy,” he responded, a little sad.

“You missed the point, Naruto. I’m not telling you what club to join. I minored in Philosophy while in college, which is why I chose that club in the first place. What I am telling you is that while in that club, I made a lot of friends, and maybe if you join a club that interests you, you might be able to do the same as well.”

Naruto washed down the brownie with his chocolate milk. “But I don’t know what club to join. And even if I did, how will I know that everyone will like me?”

“Just be yourself and people will draw to you. Trying to be someone else won’t work because the moment you show your true colors, everyone will think you’re a liar.” Iruka put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder, comforting the boy. “Naruto today is club and elective day. Instead of class, the school is giving you four free periods to go around the campus and see what elective or club you want to join. Now, a lot of kids use this time just hangout and do nothing, but I _really_ urge you to use your time wisely and find something you might be interested in. Can you do that for me?”

Naruto looked up at Iruka’s smiling face. How could he say no to him?

Before lunch ended, Iruka left to prepare his classroom for the club day. He was sponsoring a small philosophy club that started the year before. Teachers could personally sponsor clubs and electives if they wanted to, though personally sponsoring a club is hard. A teacher would have to fight for funding from the school, provide their classroom for club meetings, personally run all events that the club would have, plan any and all advertising, and lead a group of students to keep the club running. Because of the amount of time this entails, most teachers tend to simply stick to either teaching an elective or staying out of the clubs and elective field all together.

But, Iruka seemed passionate about this. Even when Naruto was young, the passion for philosophy would jump out from Iruka. He was always trying to urge Naruto to read about some old guys with beards from the Culture Age.

“But who cares about what old dudes said two thousand years ago,” Naruto would ask.

“Because these are the smartest guys to walk the earth. There is something to be said about how the people of their time thought that they had intellectual quirks, though most of them were entirely quirkless!”

Iruka would have a glow in his eyes when he would talk about them. It was clear that he looked up to them and wanted to be just like them. One day Naruto asked why he looked up to them so much.

With a hint of pain in his voice, he responded, “people like me are slowly dying, Naruto. I am an ordinary man in a world where being extraordinary is normal. So, it’s nice to know that my impact isn’t purely dependent on what quirks I possess.”

The bell rung and the students poured out into the school’s hallways. When Naruto exited the cafeteria, the hallway was flooded with students looking at all the clubs and electives the school had. It seemed that every club had the smart idea of placing their advertisement tables at the cafeteria’s entrance. Because of this, Naruto had to crawl his way through the sea of people, constantly bumping into one person after the next.

“Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry,” he said to the strangers with an earnest smile. Most of them didn’t pay much attention. The familiar one did.

“Hey,” the boy said, voice deep. Naruto turned to see it was the guy he met on the first day of school. It was Kiba.

“Aren’t you the kid who wanted to try out for the football team,” he asked, voice having a bit of resentment.

This was his opportunity to make friends. “Yes, it is I. Naruto. I was the one who wanted to try ou-“

“Cool. Listen, try outs start next period. If you want to be on the football team, you better be there on time. There are a lot of people applying this year so we can’t guarantee you a spot if you’re late…” He paused for a second. “Well, we can’t guarantee you a spot in general, that’s why you’re trying out, but I mean, we won’t allow you to try out to possibly get a spot on the team if you happen to not make it on time.” Kiba then turned around and grabbed a random kid and started talking to him about try outs.

_One period,_ Naruto thought. _One period and then I can finally make some friends._

_But what can I do for one period?_

It was like a lightbulb erupted from the top of his head.

_Iruka!_

And not a moment too soon, the bell had rung for the start of the next period.

He ran to Iruka’s class. There were probably going to be a lot of people there and if he got there too late, he wouldn’t get a good spot. But, when he arrived there, students were already leaving the classroom.

_That’s weird, I thought the period just started_.

“This is NOT an empty classroom to hangout in,” a student yelled as she escorted a horde of guys out of the class. When Naruto tried to walk in, she stopped him.

“What’s your name,” the girl asked. “Why are you here? Are you here to hangout? This is a club for philosophy, not random games that regular kids like you-“

“It’s fine, he’s with me,” said a tired voice from inside the class. It was Iruka. The girl moved out of the way and let Naruto in.

The classroom was filled with green and yellow balloons, confetti, and random designs like flowers or snowflakes that were cut out from paper. The window that looked out at the back of the school had portraits of old guys with beards from the Culture Age. The front of the room had the word ‘Philosophy’ written on the chalkboard. What stood out to Naruto was that the room was entirely empty, except for the philosophy kids who stood at front, talking to each other, and Iruka, who was next to them. They all had on grey t-shirts with the words ‘Philosophy Rules’ on them.

“Naruto. Didn’t expect to see you,” Iruka said, voice a bit heavy. He looked and sounded tired. “When I told you that joining a club that interests you could help you make friends, I didn’t mean join my club.”

“I know,” he responded. “This interests me.”

Iruka smiled. “Well, then have a seat, we are about to begin.”

As Naruto sat down, the kids closed the doors and the blinds. After that, they turned off the lights and the room became quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the noise of students in the hallway. The desks at the front of the class were pushed out of the way, leaving only an empty space that would serve to be their stage. Then, Iruka moved to the front of the stage. A kid turned on the front classroom lights.

“The year is 5000,” Iruka said. “The first year of the Age of Culture.”

Two kids walked onto the front of the stage. Though one of them looked completely normal, the other had cardboard taped on his back with hands drawn on the ends, seemingly to look like he had two extra arms. He also wore a lab coat and had glasses on.

“I am Zenji Kaisen, of the Konohagakure,” the kid on the left began. “I was born in 4975 in The Capital. When I turned 25, I had a strong urge to explore the continent and left Konoha. My journey took me throughout the known kingdoms until it stopped at the land now known as Kiri.”

“I am Kintaro, origins unknown,” said the cardboard kid. “I grew up an orphan because I was left abandoned by my parents, possibly due to my four arms. I was treated very harshly and was kicked out of the orphanage to fend for myself. This led to me leaving my country and arriving in the land now known as Kiri.”

Iruka then walked onto stage, placing himself in front of the two kids.

“Though origins very different, they both served to be the start of an age of culture. They landed in Kiri in the year 5000, and there, started their studies into what would now become the famous philosophical concept Zenjism, and the revolutionary foundation of philosophy, Kin Theory,” Iruka said.

_Famous?_ Naruto thought. This was the first time he had ever heard something like that.

The two kids left the stage. Iruka continued. “Though the Culture Age has usually been known for its revolutions in art, music, and literature, one main revolution that is not talked about, even though its impact is immense, is philosophy. Today’s culture is still impacted by the words of these scholars. Though,” Iruka paused to looked at Naruto and smiled. “I am sure you may not have heard of these people, their philosophy provided the foundation for not only modern-day art, but also science. Kin Theory is still used in the medical field.”

Naruto raised his hand.

“Yes, Naruto?”

“How is it used in the medical field? What is Kin Theory?”

Iruka almost answered, then paused. He turned to the kid with the cardboard arms. “Maybe Kintaro could explain what Kin Theory is.”

“Shit…” the kid with four arms murmured under his breath, quiet enough that Iruka couldn’t hear. He walked back onto the stage.

“Uh…Kin Theory…Is a theory made by Kintaro in the Culture Age…It is the theory of….talking to people…?”

“Good. It is primarily a theory about human interaction. How is it used in the medical field, Kintaro,” Iruka asked.

“By how they…talk to patients?”

“Great job, Kintaro!” Iruka gave him a high five.

“So, to wrap it all up, Philosophy is important to everyday living. It has far reaching effects on culture, and if you join this club, you can not only learn more about it, but discuss and debate philosophical concepts with others who share the same passion. Thank you.”

Everyone in the room clapped, though Naruto was the only person in the audience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter but we gonna get this plot moving, hold on


	14. NEWS ARTICLE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking about adding in between chapters short news articles from the world.

**Channel 6 News (In Asamachi) Transcript**

**Reporter: Akira Mirai**

**Aug. 21 st, 7008**

Welcome to Channel 6 News based in Asamachi. Today is August 21st, 7008. My name is Akira Mirai. Tensions are high this morning between the leaders of the Kumo and the Konoha. Summer’s end is approaching which means the start of talks of trade but last night, at a feast with many of Kumo’s political figures, Kumo king Fredrick Bjorn II expressed frustration over the lack of communication between the neighboring countries all year. In a drunken state, he accused the president of trying to destroy relations between the two countries as well as many other accusations, saying “Madara has not communicated with not only us, but the Ame Kingdom as well. He knows that trade is important to us during this time, with winter coming in the next months, but we have not communicated since! I know he is planning something. It would not be the first time the Uchiha’s have planned something against us.” He was quickly stopped by a political official before he could continue his rant.

In other news, the Uzumaki Party has announced that they are endorsing the President for his third term. This is big news for the Uchiha Clan, considering that last election, the Uzumaki Party were very hesitant to endorse the president due to growing concerns raised by the president’s nephew, Itachi Uchiha, on the decision to pass Bill 39, which officially made asking for the quirk status of an individual not an infringement on human rights.

Though the Uzumaki Party has endorsed Madara Uchiha, the Senju Clan has announced for the second election in a row that they have no plans of nominating a potential candidate, leaving the president running almost unopposed. As polling is coming in, it is said that Madara Uchiha has a 97% chance at winning the election.

For Asamachi News, the president has announced that he will be holding his first rally here! In Asamachi. In a statement he said “the city of Asamachi holds a great significance to this country’s history. It is said that our country’s founder, Mito Uzumaki, named this city herself. So, I am very honored to be accepted by this city’s community and to hold my first rally here.” In his first election, he held his first rally in Saisho, Mito’s hometown. He has a great fascination with the woman. Anyways, the president announced he would be holding it in Sarutobi High, saying that education would be his main focus for his next term. When asked about his thoughts on Madara using his school for a rally, the ex-Senji Leader Hiruzen Sarutobi said that he was very honored.


	15. Chapter 15

**Sasuke Uchiha**

“Bullshit,” Karin exclaimed. “You. On the football team?”

“Trying out for the football team,” Suigetsu responded, hands behind his head. The group were walking through the now empty hallways. Lunch had just finished, and all the students were in whichever club they were interested in joining. Instead of picking a club to join, the gang decided to use their free periods to hangout until school ended.

“Bullshit, with your scrawny ass,” Karin roasted. “You’re not built like Kiba or better yet, Choji! Not to mention, football?! When did you get passionate about sports?”

“My old man forced me all right,” Suigetsu responded. “He was like ‘oh, high school is an important time for you, you need to join football, I almost went pro, blah blah blah’ and so, he talked with the coach and now I’m trying out.”

“You’re shitting me,” Karin said.

“I’m not. Plus, so what if I’m into sports. To be honest I think I would be pretty good at it,” Suigetus smiled. “I’ll probably make it on the team too.”

“Maybe something like basketball,” Jugo chimed in. “Or swimming. But definitely not football.”

“Jugo is a better fit for football!” Karin turned to Jugo. “Why don’t you try out for football?”

“I don’t know anything about the sport, nor do I care,” Jugo responded, never looking away from his magazine. He was reading the same magazine he got yesterday while hanging out with Sakura.

The same day Sasuke’s uncle returned.

“Well, maybe not, but it would be cool if you made it on the team and Suigetsu didn’t,” Karin suggested.

Jugo finally looked away from his magazine. “Hmm… I think I like that,” he said.

“Its settled. Jugo is trying out for football. And we,” Karin nudged at Sasuke, “are going to watch them.”

Sasuke wasn’t paying attention. His mind was too busy somewhere else.

_He’s back._ He kept thinking. _He’s back. And he wants me to make a speech. For him. After all that he’s done-_

“Sasuke,” Karin said. “Are you listening? Suigetsu is joining the football team.”

Sasuke brought his mind back too school. “Oh yeah,” Sasuke said. “With your scrawny ass?”

“I LITERALLY said the same thing!”

Suigetsu sighed. “Whatever. But when I get on the team and become one of the popular kids, don’t be surprised if I never talk to you guys again.”

“I’m confused, Suigetsu. You said you were getting on the team when clearly it’ll be Jugo,” said Karin.

“Yeah, I was confused myself,” Jugo said, eyes still glued to the magazine.

“You’re always confused,” Sasuke chimed.

“What’s that supposed to mean,” Jugo responded.

“Oh, by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you this,” Suigetsu said. He then stopped in his tracks. The whole group followed suit. “Sasuke…” he started. “Did you end up getting that girl’s number from yesterday?”

“Wha- I- No, I don’t eve- I’m not into-“ Sasuke stuttered, trying to find the right words. “No.”

“Oh, that girl was pretty,” Karin said. “AND she followed us through the entire city? She has got be somewhat into you. How could you screw that up, Sasuke?”

“She was following us because she needed my phone to call her parents, firstly. And second, I’m not into Sakura, so why do you keep bringing her up!”

“But, since you didn’t get her number,” Suigetsu pondered, ignoring Sasuke. “…That means we’re going to have to find her and have you ask her out in person!”

“Oh, now that’s a whole lot more interesting than just walking around aimlessly for an hour,” Karin said. “You guys in?”

“Absolutely not,” Sasuke scolded.

“Absolutely,” said the rest of the group.

Sasuke was shocked that they would do such a thing to him. _They really want to force me to ask someone out._

“Well, jokes on you, how are you supposed to find her,” Sasuke asked. “This is a pretty big school and there are a lot of clubs. So, let’s just forge-“

“She had detention because she fought someone, right,” asked Suigetsu. “Do any of you guys see who the girl she fought was?”

Everybody shook their head. Suigetsu smiled. “Well, I did. And I think that’s her over there.”

He pointed at a girl inside a classroom. She had light blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail. A part of her hair came down the side of her face, almost covering her right eye. Though Sasuke was at first unsure if that was the girl or not, the bruise on her chin that was badly covered up by makeup confirmed it.

_Dammit_ , he thought. _I really have the worst luck._

The rest of the gang rushed into the classroom. Sasuke reluctantly followed.

The girl was talking to a boy dressed in all black. He was drawing on his sketchpad and though she was talking to him, the boy took no interest in her. He was completely invested into drawing.

“No like really, I’m not that kind of girl. You know, I’m unique and shit. I don’t like mainstream music. Uh…I’m like such an introvert. I don’t even socialize. And gosh, drawing? Don’t get me started. My favorite drawers are-,”

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Suigetsu said, interrupting the girl’s tangent. She stopped, turned to him, and slowly examined him from bottom to top with her pale green eyes.

“Oh gosh, has this bruise really made me that unappealing? This is who I’m approached by,” she finally said.

“Well, no ma’am, you are indeed very appealing, bruise or not,” Suigetsu responded.

“No shit. I know that. Just can’t believe that from every guy here, YOU are the first to approach me. I mean, damn, at least fucking Shino.”

“I am sad that no one has approached you, but I do have some good news,” Suigetsu said. “I am not ‘approaching’ you.”

“Then what do you want,” the girl asked.

“Well, my friend here is looking for someone, and we believe you might know where that someone is. You see-“

“We know you got your shit rocked by Sakura yesterday and wanted to see if you know where she is,” Karin interrupted.

“Karin!” Suigetsu snapped. He turned back to the girl. “But, yeah, essentially what she said.”

“Why,” the girl asked, trying to look unfazed but clearly angry.

“Our buddy Sasuke had detention with her and didn’t get her number,” Suigetsu responded.

“Like a bitch,” Karin said.

“…Sasuke,” the girl asked. “Nephew to the president of this country?”

_Don’t fucking remind me,_ he thought.

The girl paused, her face looking as if she were debating with her thoughts. She was considering something. 

“…president nephew or not, he’s still a bum,” she murmured after some time. “Ok,” she said. “My best guess is that she’s at the fencing club.”

“Why would she be at the fencing club,” Suigetsu asked.

“Probably because she thinks she still has a chance with the most popular kid at school,” she responded. “Pretty silly if you ask me. No guy that popular would go for a girl with a five head.”

The whole gang turned to Sasuke, each having a sad look on their faces. Suigetsu reached his hand out and grabbed Sasuke’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry…. It seems she has fallen for someone else,” he said with great agony.

_THANK. GOD,_ Sasuke yelled in his head. “Oh well, guess we’re just going to ha-,”

“Don’t give up yet,” Jugo interrupted. “As you know, I have lived a long time on this world.”

“You’re only like a year older than us-,” Sasuke started.

“And during that time, I have had my fair share of experiences with women,” Jugo continued. “From those experiences, I have learned this: don’t assume she isn’t into you until you ask, for unless you have a telepathy quirk, you will never know.”

“Wow…” Suigetsu said. “That’s deep. But, right now, she’s with Neji, so to ask would be kind of weird when she’s talking to someone she’s into.”

“I agree, which is why we’re very lucky that she isn’t with Neji,” Jugo responded.

“What do you mean,” Karin said. “This girl just said she’s at the fencing club trying to seduce Neji.”

“I think she might be over there instead,” Jugo said, pointing outside.

The whole crew turned around. Outside the window, seated at the pond, was a girl in all white, fencing gear. She was slumped forward, hands on her head, and helmet on the floor. The crew all rushed outside to meet her. Sasuke followed reluctantly, completely dreading what was about to happen.

They all ran to her and surrounded her like a pack of wolves. Sakura wasn’t paying attention, her head still down, so when it came up, she was very reasonably startled.

“H-Hello…” she said with a very nervous and confused look. “Thanks for the help yesterday with my parents. Uhm….” She scratched her head, her face becoming very red.

“Seeee,” Karin whispered to Sasuke. “She’s into you. Now, tell her you like her.”

Sasuke could tell that she wasn’t blushing because he was there. There was something off about her. For one thing, she was wearing fencing gear and was sitting alone all by herself.

_But, why am I the only person smart enough to see that,_ he thought, frustrated.

“Hey Sakura,” Suigetsu started.

_Oh god no. It’s happening._

“My friend Sasuke here wanted to talk to you. Alone, I assume.”

He didn’t know which was better. To have his friends watch him embarrass himself trying to explain why he wasn’t into Sakura or to do it alone.

The group slowly backed away from the two of them. Regardless whichever Sasuke thought was worse, he was going to have to talk to her alone. He watched with helpless eyes as the group left the two of them and walked back into the school.

_Ok, it’s happened,_ he thought, the panic slowly rising within him. _Crap, what should I do? What should I do?_

“So, what did you want to talk to me about,” the girl asked. Her voice was off. It sounded tired, like she didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.

_Not my concern,_ he thought. _But I could use this. If she doesn’t want to talk, then we don’t have too._

“Oh, nothing,” he started. “My uh friends, they’re just weird. I-I’m sorry if t-they bothered you. You look like you uh d-don’t w-want to talk r-right now, s-so I’ll j-just-.”

“No, it’s ok,” she responded. “You guys aren’t bothering me at all. Just had a rough day is all.”

They stood in silence for a couple seconds.

_Fuck,_ he thought. _If I ask, I am stuck in this situation longer, but if I don’t, I’m going to look rude._

The seconds turned into a minute.

“W-Why was y- w-what happened,” was all he could manage to say.

“Long story,” Sakura said, sounding more tired than ever.

Sasuke turned to the group. His friends’ eyes were glued onto them, not even being remotely inconspicuous.

_Oh boy, he’s confessing his feelings for her_ is what they were probably thinking.

He looked back at the girl, clearly tired from a rough day.

“It’s been a long day for me too,” he sighed. Seeing her reminded him of his uncle at home, waiting for him, and how it felt to go to school knowing that. “These past two days have rough, huh?”

“Extremely,” she chuckled. “I got into a fight the first day, and now look at me. In this hot weather, wearing fencing uniform.”

“Does that have to do with that long story of yours,” he asked.

“It is the reason why my story is so long,” she responded, smiling.

“What is your story,” Sasuke asked.

Sakura’s face got super red. “A long one, ok,” she said, clearly embarrassed.

“That’s cool,” he responded, accepting she didn’t want to tell him what’s wrong. “Look, my friends over there are going to watch Suigetsu try out in football. Wanna join?”

“The kid with the white hair,” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Isn’t he a little scrawny to be playing football?”

“We all said the exact same thing,” he said, almost showing a smile.


	16. Chapter 16

**NARUTO**

There are a few things that Sartuobi High is known for. They’re the only high school in Asamachi, their fencing team, and that the school is notoriously run by the ex-Senji leader Sarutobi. Besides that, you would be hard pressed to find anything else that the school was exceptional at and even if you did think of anything, the last thing anybody would say would be football. Naruto realized this when he left the philosophy club meeting and headed to the football field. When he got there, he realized it was more just a field than it was a _football_ field.

It was really a huge patch of grass that was located behind the school. Surrounding it was a short metal fence that, though it had an entrance, nobody ever used it, opting to instead jump the fence rather than open the gate. The teachers even jumped the fence. That’s how short it was.

The grass was real grass, not like the ones in other schools or stadiums. You would have to watch where you sat or else you might sit on an ant pile and have your pants infested with the tiny insects. If you wanted to sit anywhere else that isn’t the floor, bring your own chair. There are no benches. There were also no goal posts, though that was never really a concern due to Sarutobi never hosting any games, and no painted yard lines and goal areas, instead, the halfway line and touchdown was marked by small, orange cones.

Naruto took a seat at touchdown, where everyone else was seated. He looked around, trying to find anyone he recognized. He saw Kiba and Choji together, standing in front of the crowd, talking to two people he didn’t recognize. One of them was obviously the coach; he looked older than the rest; however, his face was somewhat familiar. Having some of Sarutobi’s features, the teacher had a thick, black, chinstrap, and a bandana on that held his spiky hair up. Besides that, he very much looked like a younger Sarutobi. The other person Kiba and Choji was talking to was a student. Naruto had seen him before in one of his classes. He had long hair that was held back into a ponytail and a skinny face. His facial expression and demeanor was very composed. His long, skinny eyebrows laid low on his face, not being far away from his eyes. The kid looked much older for his age.

Besides them, those were the only people there that Naruto recognized so far. But there wasn’t a lot of people at try outs to begin with, possibly twenty people total. The chances of Naruto recognizing anyone was low.

The coach stopped talking to Kiba and Choji and turned to the group at touchdown.

“Ok, it’s 1:59 PM,” the coach started. “I think it’s safe to assume that this is every-.”

“ASUMA!” boomed a deep voice from outside the field. “DO NOT START WITHOUT US!”

The voice belonged to a lean, fit man with a bowl cut and the thickest eyebrows Naruto had ever seen. The man walked around with a wooden cane for support but still jumped the fence with as much ease any other person. Walking with him was a student who also had a bowl cut and thick eyebrows. He was lean and fit just like the man and the kid wore a black vest over his green jumpsuit.

“Mr. Guy,” Asuma said. “You had me worried for a second there. I almost thought you wouldn’t be joining us.”

“Asuma,” the old man with a cane responded. “Did you think I would miss my boy’s very first high school football try out?”

“Guess not,” Asuma responded. He turned to the kid. “Rock Lee, are you excited to be trying out this year?”

“Extremely excited, sir,” the kid responded with a much higher pitched voice than Naruto anticipated. His eyes showed so much passion.

“Ok, have a seat with the rest at touchdown,” Asuma said. Rock Lee ran to touchdown and sat down right in the middle.

Mr.Guy and Asuma then whispered to each other for a little bit before Mr. Guy left.

“Alright,” Asuma said to the team. “We’re starting a little late, but that’s fine. You have two more free periods after this and let’s be honest, you probably weren’t going to go to any other club.”

Everybody laughed. During this, Naruto noticed a group of kids jump the fence and hurry over to the touchdown. When they sat down, he recognized them. It was the president’s nephew and Sakura.

_I hope they don’t notice me,_ he thought. _It must’ve been embarrassing after yesterday. Sarutobi probably gave them detention again for trying to sneak out. Because of that, they’re probably mad at me…_

_Why is Sakura in fencing gear?_

“So, before try outs begin,” Asuma continued. “I want to double check if you all know the rules to football. If you don’t please raise your hand.”

The red-haired girl from Sasuke’s group raised her hand. Naruto felt relieved because he didn’t actually know much about the sport either. 

“Ok, it’s quite simple,” Asuma said. “The main goal of football is to get the ball from one end of the field to another while also preventing the other team from doing the same thing. This cone area you’re sitting on is called touchdown. When the people on offense get the ball in this area, they receive points or a touchdown. Now, professionally, each team would have set group of people for offense and a set group of people for defense, but due to our school not having much funding nor people to play, the people on offense will also be the people on defense.”

“When on offense, there is a quarterback, who oversees passing the ball, either it be a run or a throw. Then, there are the receivers, the people responsible for catching the ball, and linemen, the people responsible for preventing the defense from tackling the quarterback. When you are tackled, the team starts again at the place you were tackled at. You have four chances to reach touchdown, however, if you make it past the halfway line, that is first down, meaning your chances reset, granting you another four chances to make it to touchdown.”

“But I think the part you might’ve been confused on is how quirks are used in football. Almost all quirk use is allowed. The only ones banned is teleportation, mind control/telepathy, and all projectile quirks. So, I don’t want to see any of you start spitting fireballs at each other. Also, NO elemental quirks. It doesn’t say that in the rule book, but this team already doesn’t get money as is, so if the field is messed up, WE’RE the ones who are going to clean it. So no breaking the ground or burning it or whatever. Honestly, I want quirk use to be as little as possible. I know a lot of you are super excited to try out for the team and want to show off all your skill and talent, but trust me, as much as these boys here have been saying otherwise, every person trying out will be making it. The only thing you’re trying out for is for which position.”

“Does that answer your question, girl,” Asuma asked.

The redhead gave him a thumbs up.

“Ok then,” Asuma said. “Let’s start the try outs.”

Rock Lee raised his hand. Asuma looked a bit annoyed. “Yes, Lee,” he said.

“Sir,” Rock Lee started. “I think before we do try outs, we should warm up first. Sensei Guy always told me that for the heater to turn on, you have to first warm up the engine.”

“And how do you think we should ‘warm up our engines’,” the coach asked.

“I think you should make us run laps back and forth across the field,” the boy responded without hesitation. The entire team turned to look at him, including Naruto, with complete shock on their faces.

“Well,” Asuma said, scratching his head. “I guess that’s a good idea. Alright boys, you heard him. We’ll start by running laps touchdown to touchdown.”

Everybody groaned. Asuma pulled out a cigarette pack and started to walk off the field with Choji, Kiba, and the spiky haired kid.

“Coach,” the boy said, bent over like he was about to sprint. “Where are you guys going? You should run with us.”

Asuma grabbed a cigarette and began to light it. “Oh, uh…. We already did that before you came here.” He took a deep breath, as if he were trying to inhale all the smoke the cigarette had one go, and then let it out.

“Alright,” the coach said. “We’ll run laps for…” He looked at the spiky haired kid. The kid shrugged and put up two fingers. “…For TWO minutes! Everybody get ready!”

The team got up, complaining and cursing under their breath.

_This could be a good time to stand out,_ Naruto thought. He remembered what Iruka told him about joining a club to make friends.

_The best guy on a team for sure has friends._

“On your mark,” Asuma said. “Get set… GO!”

Rock Lee immediately went into a fast sprint, leading the charge of unenthusiastic runners.

_I can’t lose_ , Naruto thought. He too started to sprint.

_I won’t lose._

Rock Lee was the first to reach the other side of the field. He was outrunning everyone by a large margin. When the next person (a scrawny kid with white hair) finally reached touchdown, Rock Lee was already at first down.

Naruto was in a close third, though fourth place was close as well. The person behind him had orange hair and was huge. He looked to have his eyes dead set on the skinny white-haired kid in front of them.

Far behind fourth place was the rest of the team. To say that they were jogging would be describing it very generously.

_Don’t look back_ , Naruto thought. He reached first down at this point and was running as fast as he could. But he was still in third, and the huge guy was still in a close fourth.

And Rock Lee was running back from touchdown.

“Keep it up guys,” he said as he passed them, almost at first down again. “You’re doing great team!”

_I cannot lose,_ he thought. He tried to run even faster, but sadly, he only ended up in third place.

When the two minutes were up, Naruto collapsed on the floor. He realized that how unathletic he truly was. Though he may have gotten into fights when he was younger, those fights never really lasted that long, and he never ran around growing up because who was he going to run around with.

Naruto laid back onto the rough grass and gripped his chest. His heart was pounding hard. So hard that you could almost hear it pound. Naruto couldn’t hear anything but the hard, fast pound from his chest.

“Hey,” someone said, voice somewhat familiar. Naruto looked to see who it was.

It was Sakura from yesterday.

_Oh no,_ he thought. _She’s probably going to go off on me or yell at me or hit me because of yesterday._

“You’re Naruto, right,” she asked. Naruto, breathing heavily, nodded.

“Are you ok,” she asked. “You’re grabbing your chest awfully hard.”

“No…” he said, trying to catch some air. “I’m fine…Just tired, ya know….”

“Yeah,” Sakura said. “I don’t get why you and Suigetsu tried to run so fast. You know this was just a warmup, right?”

“Who,” Naruto asked, lost.

“Oh, Suigetsu,” Sakura pointed at the skinny guy with white hair. “Him.”

“Oh…” Naruto said, a lot more relaxed now. His heart was starting to slow down. “That guy is fast…” He sat up from the ground.

“A lot faster than I thought,” Sakura said. “Hey, something’s been bothering me, and I have to ask, what happened when Sarutobi took you out of detention?”

“Look, I’m really sorry about yesterday. I was really dumb, and I didn’t mean for anything to happen to you guys. I know you all hate me for yester-.”

“Whoa,” she interrupted.

Naruto could already feel the tears starting to build up, but he was quick to cover them. He was hoping high school would be different. His entire life, all he ever knew was loneliness and Naruto hoped that maybe in high school, he would finally make friends but the one chance he was given to do that, he screwed up.

“Why would we hate you,” Sakura asked.

This surprised Naruto.

“B-Because you got caught,” Naruto whined. “And Sa-the principal punished you guys, right?”

“Oh no,” she responded. “Detention finished and then we left. Principal Sarutobi hasn’t even talked to us since yesterday.”

Naruto let out a huge sigh. He felt relieved.

“Are you okay,” she asked.

Naruto wiped any tears that managed to come out of him. “Yeah,” he tiredly said. “It’s just, its been a rough week and we’re only two days into it.”

Sakura smiled. “It’s been rough for all of us,” she said.

“Alright everybody,” Asuma said, flicking away his cigarette. “I am genuinely impressed by some of you. You went _really_ fast, especially for a warm-up. I just hope you still have energy for the rest of try outs.”

“We’re going to split you up into two teams. A defensive team and an offensive team. The way try outs will work is that I will make you switch positions within your team to see which position you’re the best at and then eventually, make you switch teams to see your offensive and defensive ability. We have a pretty even number of people so splitting you all up shouldn’t be that much of an issue.”

After the team was split up, Naruto ended up on the defensive team. His position was to guard the wide receiver. The person he ended up guarding was Sakura.

“Isn’t this kind of funny,” she said when they both got on the line of scrimmage. “That I don’t really want to get on the team, but here I am, trying out.”

“If you don’t want to be on the team, then why are you trying out,” Naruto asked.

“Well Suigetsu wanted to try out and we thought that was funny. Then Karin said that if Jugo tried out and made it on the team but not Suigetsu, it would funnier. So then I suggested if we all tried out and made it on the team but not Suigetsu, that it would be even more funnier,” Sakura responded. “The idea sounded better in conversation, but now that we’re here, it actually kinda sucks.”

The quarterback for now was the bowl cut kid with the vest. He started yelling random colors at the top of his lungs before he yelled “HUT!”

Naruto was fully prepared to play hard defense but when Rock Lee yelled hut, Sakura only jogged forward, not really doing anything else. Instead of guarding her, the two of them talked until it was time to switch positions.

On the next position, Naruto ended up being put on the line to tackle the quarterback. In front of him was Choji.

_How the hell am I supposed to get past him,_ he thought. _The guy’s huge._

Suigetsu was quarterback this time. He didn’t call out random colors and numbers, unlike the guy before him.

_Ok, if I get past him, tackling the quarterback should be easy,_ he thought. _But I have to get past him._

Naruto prepped himself. This was not going to be easy for sure. But he had a trick up his sleeve.

“HUT,” yelled Suigetsu, though not quite as loud as Rock Lee. Choji immediately charged forward. Naruto tried moving left but Choji quickly moved in front of him. The man was fast. He wasn’t going to slip past Choji. The only way forward was through the big man. Naruto charged into Choji, trying to push him down. He ended up on the floor immediately.

Asuma blew his whistle. “Second down, five yards back,” he yelled.

Choji looked around confused until he turned to see Suigetsu on the floor with Naruto’s clone on top. The kid chuckled.

“Good one,” he said, smiling as he helped Naruto up from the ground.

After that, Choji never charged forward again, instead deciding to stay by Suigetsu’s side until it was time to change positions.

Naruto was back on guarding wide receivers. This time the person he was guarding was the huge guy who was in fourth place during the warmup. His expressionless face made Naruto uncomfortable.

This time, Sasuke was quarterback. The president’s nephew stood there awkwardly, looking to be unsure of what he should do.

“Uh….Hut,” he said, voice so quiet that nobody heard him. “…Hut,” he said a little louder, though still very quiet.

“Did you say hut,” Kiba asked, his position on the line of scrimmage, making him closest to Sasuke.

The kid nodded his head in response.

“The guy said HUT,” yelled Kiba. 

The huge man immediately charged forward. Naruto kept close behind him. He then quickly cut left, catching Naruto off guard but, he made a clone and sent it to guard him. Sasuke ended up tossing the ball out of bounds so it didn’t matter in the end.

After that, Asuma told everyone to take a five-minute break. The kid with the ponytail had left earlier and was now back with two packs of bottled water. Naruto gulped his bottle in under a second.

“Hey kid,” someone said behind him. Naruto turned around. It was Asuma.

“Are you ok,” he asked.

Naruto looked at him confused. “Yeah…Why? Am I doing badly?”

“No, you’re doing great but, you keep grabbing your chest while you play. Is there something wrong?”

The entire time, Naruto’s heart had been pounding hard and extremely fast. When guarding the huge guy, Naruto really noticed just how fast his heart was pounding. But, if he told Asuma that, the coach would for sure take him out of try outs and Naruto was not going to miss this opportunity to make friends. Plus, he was fine. He just wasn’t used to running around a lot, so it probably meant he was out of shape. And it was hot outside and he hadn’t drunk water in a while so after this break, he would for sure be fine.

“I’m ok,” he responded. “I just have a bad itch on my chest.”

“Ok that’s fine,” the coach said. “By the way, your clone use is pretty good, however, though on defense you can have two clones on the field, on offense, you can only have one. Also, if you’re a wide receiver, your clone can’t catch the ball. You can only use him as protection or illusion or whatever. Just not as a wide receiver.”

When the break was over, Naruto ended up on offense. The first position he was playing was quarterback.

Kiba approached him before the play.

“Hey,” he said. “When you say hut, throw the ball to me. The person guarding me isn’t that good.”

Everyone lined up on the line of scrimmage. Choji was on the same team this time and was on the line protecting Naruto. The person rushing was Suigetsu. He felt relieved.

_Don’t screw it up,_ he thought. _Choji is protecting me so I have all the time in the world. And it’s Suigetsu whose rushing so I’ll be fine._

“Hut,” he yelled, trying to sound bold.

Suigetsu moved quickly, almost slipping past Choji. His quirk that allowed his body to become liquid made it really hard to grab him, but nobody could get past Choji. Naruto was safe.

“HEY,” Kiba growled. “I’m open!”

Naruto looked for Kiba until he saw the dog-human hybrid that was on the field. Kiba’s quirk was transformation, specifically, into a dog-like creature. It made Kiba a dangerous player on the field.

He got ready to throw the ball.

“ON YOUR LEFT,” Choji yelled. Naruto turned.

It was Rock Lee, sprinting full force at him, ready to tackle.

Naruto cloned himself and moved right, making Lee run into the clone. But, moving right did not serve him well. He had moved out of Choji’s protection. Suigetsu moved towards Naruto. He was going to make another clone until he remembered that only one clone was allowed.

Suigetsu charged, tackling Naruto.

“Gotcha,” he said, smiling as he laid on top of him. “That was revenge for last time.”

“Come on man,” Kiba whined, returning to his original form. “You can’t take that long when on quarterback cause this happens.” He helped Naruto off the ground.

“Oh, give him a break, Kiba,” Rock Lee said, dusting himself off. “To be honest, that trick with the clones was really good. You can’t deny it.”

Naruto smiled. His actions were being noticed by his peers instead of his elders. It felt good.

_What doesn’t feel good is this pain in my chest,_ he thought.

The positions changed again, and Naruto ended up being a wide receiver. This time, the person guarding him was Rock Lee.

“Hey,” the bushy browed kid said. “What’s your name?”

“It’s Naruto,” he responded.

“That’s cool, I’m Rock Lee. Is this your first-time playing football?”

“Yeah,” Naruto said, scratching his head (and chest).

“You’re really good,” Rock Lee said. “I think this may be the best opportunity to not hold back.”

“What do you-.”

Before Naruto could finish, Rock Lee took off his vest. When the vest hit the floor, it made a huge sound and left a crack in the ground.

“…How much weight is in that thing,” Naruto asked.

“Oh, like 50 lbs. Nothing really impressive, but as a quirkless guy, 50 lbs is really pushing it on my limit. Sensei Guy told me to wear it during this try out, but man, I really want to see how capable I am, and what better place to try it out than at try outs.”

Naruto looked at him confused.

_This entire time, running faster than the entire football, he had a 50lb vest on? And he doesn’t even have any quirks? Who is this man?_

“Hut,” yelled Kiba, who was now the quarterback. Immediately, Naruto charged forward. He moved left then right then forward then back but the entire time, he could not shake Rock Lee off him.

“Second down,” yelled Asuma.

“Damn…” Rock Lee mumbled. “Maybe I should put the vest back on.”

This angered Naruto. He was going to be the best player on the team, one way or another. The pain in his chest, which was growing by the second, was holding him back.

_Just ignore it,_ he thought. _It’s just in your head. I am NOT wasting this opportunity._

“Hut,” Kiba yelled.

Naruto sprinted, faster than before. He then cloned himself. Both went in opposite directions. Rock Lee’s eyes were too good for that. He didn’t move away at all, continuing to closely guard Naruto. Kiba’s eyes were not. He tossed it to Naruto’s clone.

Asuma blew his whistle. “Foul,” he said. “Offensive team. 10 yards back, third down.”

“Why did you pass it to my clone,” Naruto asked aggressively. The growing pain was making him more frustrated.

“What do you mean, why did I pass it to your clone,” Kiba responded. “I am looking at a whole bunch of players who are potentially open, I can’t keep my eyes on one singular player at a time. How the hell am I supposed to know which of you is the clone and which isn’t?”

He had a point. Unless Kiba was only watching Naruto, he was going to pass it to the clone if they’re open. Naruto sighed and went back to the line.

“Hey,” Rock Lee said. “That was a good trick with the clone. Sucks that you can’t pass to clones cause that would’ve for sure been a touchdown or a first down at least.” He started to put his vest on.

“Don’t you put that fucking vest on!”

Rock Lee looked at first surprised, then intrigued. He dropped the vest.

The pain was at its peak. Naruto could barely hear anything else besides the fast beating of his heart. He pinched his left arm, hoping that it could bring back the feeling in it, but sadly, it was still numb. It had been since the warm up.

_I am not going to give up now!_

“HUT,” Kiba yelled.

Naruto charged forward again. Rock Lee’s defense was unforgiving. You could not get open if Rock Lee were guarding you, but it didn’t matter. Naruto had already beat him. Rock Lee stayed on like stripes on a tiger, but the closer they got to touchdown, the slower he became.

“You’re not even going to try and juke me,” he eventually said. “Your only option is to out run me? I don’t think that’s too wise, but…”

He completely stopped in his tracks.

The clone stopped too.

“Damn it, you’re good,” he said before rushing backwards.

Naruto by this point was on his way to first down. Though he was not the fastest on the team, he was still the third fastest, so all he had to do was outrun everyone before they could tackle him. The hard part was making sure Lee did not see that there was two Narutos the field. So, making the clone grab his attention was what he had to do. Kiba, who already said that he would pass to whoever’s open, passed it to Naruto because the person guarding him was too busy guarding his clone.

When Rock Lee finally caught up to him, Naruto had already made it past first down. He kneeled before he got tackled by Lee.

The pain was unbearable then.

“Hey, good job,” the bushy browed kid said. “You taught me a valuable lesson. That it’s not just physical might that matters but also mental might. You know what, I think me and you are going to make a great pair and I’m glad I have someone like you on my team.”

Naruto couldn’t even breathe at this point. His vision blurred. His left arm was still numb. He was shivering from how cold he was.

“…Naruto,” Rock Lee said. “Are you ok?”

That was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.


End file.
